Texting and Driving

Is it that important to keep a conversation going throughout the whole day? According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 20% of all fatal car accidents due to distracted driving were caused by people using there cellphones. These people could not put down there phone for a simple car ride, and they ended up killing themselves or someone else because of it. Texting and driving is a serious problem in the United States and needs to be illegal now. There are way too many innocent people dying because of this outrageous act.
First texting and driving is very hazardous and causes lots of damage to people and property. There are a lot people against texting and driving because it causes a great amount of car crashes each year, many of those being fatal. People just can’t resist, not responding, to someone if they feel the vibration of their phone, they just have to check. In 2007, 5917 people died, and 448,000 people were injured all because people made the decision to drive distracted. Too many innocent lives have been taken because someone made the decision to text and drive. Each state has different laws set in place for texting and driving. As of April of 2012 ten states have banned teenagers from texting driving and there are strict laws to enforce it (Hossansky). As hard as it is to take your eyes away from your phone while driving, it needs to happen; otherwise far too many people will lose their lives from this act.
Although a lot of people are in favor of this law that would ban texting while driving, others think it should not be banned. The views of people against banning texting while driving think, if you need to urgently text someone you should be able to and not have to worry about getting a ticket. Some other people say it’s harmless to text and drive if you are texting with your voice or using a hands free device. Another argument people would make is cops shouldn’t be spending time just on the lookout for texting and driving; they should fight crime or stop people who are actually breaking the law. Those points are very valid arguments too; however it’s been proven that people aren’t distracted when talking, it’s when they look down at the device. The average time it takes to read a text message is 4.6 seconds, and going 55 MPH while reading 4.6 seconds, that’s like driving the length of a football field blindly (VTTI). That is dangerous, and if people knew the facts of texting and driving people would stop.
If texting and driving isn’t bad enough, many people have compared it to drunk driving. Drunk driving is illegal, and so should texting and driving. Texting and driving is equivalent to driving with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08% which is legally drunk, according to drivinglaws.org. For years people have known the damage done by drunk driving, because of this knowledge people are finding different ways to get home and not drink and driving, they are finding a cab or have a designated driver. The laws are strict and people are changing there habits. So if people were able to learn about drunk driving, more people need to inform people about the risks of texting while driving. Once people figure that out, I believe more and more people will be more aware that texting and driving can cause lots of damage, and should be illegal.
In conclusion texting while driving needs to be banned. It puts many peoples life’s at risk, and not enough people are listening to the facts about the dangers of texting and driving. If you are choosing to text and drive, just remember you are not only putting your life at risk, but also the peoples life’s around you that are innocent at risk. The text can wait, and instead of driving distracted focus on the road.