Texting behind the wheel more dangerous than drinking behind the wheel?
Thursday, October 1st, 2009 | posted by: Julie Magee
According to the Obama administration, nearly 6,000 people were killed and 250,000 injured last year in vehicle crashes related in some fashion to driver distraction, big red flag about how dangerous it is to use a cell phone behind the wheel. The U.S. Transportation Department is hosting a “distracted driving summit” to take a hard look at the hazards caused by drivers talking on cell phones or texting from behind the wheel. They are not the only ones looking into this issue. Car and Driver magazine found that texting and driving is more dangerous than drunken driving.
The outcome of the summit is surely to bring more laws, heavier fines and stricter enforcement across the United States. While many states already have laws against texting while driving, or using a cell phone of any kind while driving experts are now advocating that federal funding be withheld from any state not implementing legislation against texting or emailing while driving.
Some groups are requesting that all mobile devices be banned from use while driving, including talking on a cell phone but the main emphasis seems to be on texting since this technology has exploded in use. In December 2005 as a nation we sent or received 10 billion messages a month but in only four years, that monthly total now exceeds 110 billion!
Or, perhaps the answer is to restrict text messages to no more than six characters.
See the list here to learn how you can minimize the level of texting distraction!
TTYL TYVM
