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Text Messaging While Driving – A Growing National Concern

Technological advances are meant to add conveniences to our everyday lives. Yet these same conveniences are giving rise to a growing national concern regarding the dangerous practice of DWT (Driving While Texting).

While it is not known how many traffic deaths contribute specifically to text messaging while driving on an annual basis, it is believed that accidental death from texting while driving has overtaken drunk driving fatalities on public roads. It is no secret that text messaging has become the main form of communication among teenagers. This understandably has many parents very concerned. And though the majority of those who text and drive are between the ages of 18-34, more and more people of all age groups are partaking in this risky practice on a daily basis.

Parents aren’t the only ones concerned about this growing danger. Recently, a group of Tampa area High School Students drafted and submitted a bill in Tallahassee to stop anyone under the age of 18 from using a cell phone while driving. They don’t think those their age should be texting or talking on a cell phone while driving.

Thankfully, lawmakers have embarked on a bill-passing mission to crack down on texting while driving and other forms of DWD (Driving While Distracted) activities. Seven states (and the District of Columbia) have thus far banned text messaging for drivers - Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington. Utah recently approved the ban, which takes effect July 1st, and Maryland is close to passing the measure into law as well. In addition, nine other states have banned new drivers with restricted licenses; Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Nebraska, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Virginia and West Virginia.

The statistics reflecting driving while distracted are alarming and account for almost 85% of all driving accidents and 65% of near accidents in the US according to the NHTSA (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration). The NSC (National Safety Council) estimates 636,000 crashes in the United States due to drivers on their cell phones causing 330,000 injuries and 2600 deaths.

Researchers in the UK have discovered a person’s ability to focus and respond while texting and driving is greatly affected. They tested subjects between the ages of 18-24 using a driving simulator and found the reaction time of the participants was slowed by a whopping 35% as they sent or received text messages compared to 21% while driving under the impairment of marijuana and 12% after consuming alcohol.

Hope on the Horizon

Companies are hard at work to find solutions to keep drivers safe. Virtual Management, Inc., has developed the EVA (Electronic Virtual Assistant), which provides a live transcribing service which can send or receive email or text messages via voice mail. The company says this service will save businesses money through tax write-offs and expense accountants.

A company in Utah is using Bluetooth technology that, while the car is on, makes it impossible for a driver to text or talk on their cell phone. Ronn Hartman of Accendo LC, the company working to commercialize the technology, said “This is all about saving lives and safer driving.”

An application for Google’s Android platform, called Textecution, integrates with the phones’ GPS to detect whenever the phone is moving faster than 10 mph, at which time the application will deactivate the phones SMS capabilities.

This application was developed for adults looking to keep their teens safe who are at greater risk of car accident and injury due to the fact that they are inexperienced drivers.

Safer Roads Starts With You

Until additional laws are passed to address this important issue and/or additional technologies become mainstream, remember to always be cautious before considering using your cell phone while on the road. Drivers are strongly advised to pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot to use their mobile device safely if necessary.

Chat to Text Messaging and Consumer Safety

The folks at LiveChatToText.com want to remind those that use the Chat to Text service to be sure and set their chat status to ‘offline’ mode prior to embarking on an appointment to avoid driving distractions from possible chat requests via our service. This can be accomplished by logging into the Chat to Text account and selecting the settings feature under the Profile tab.
If needed, set your computer alarm or schedule a time on your daily planner when setting appointments to remind yourself to turn your preferences to ‘offline’ prior to your appointment and then back on when you return.

Do You Twitter?

Join the cause and spread the word about safety while texting and driving. Follow @TextSafely then tell your Twitter friends by clicking the Easy Retweet button below:

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