Campus Carrier Editorial Board
Texting while driving makes a driver 23 times more likely to crash (Mary Madden). There have been twice as many deaths from texting and driving than from driving under the influence. These two statistics are two big problems, but another big problem is that people know how dangerous multitasking while driving is; yet, they still continue to do so. The solution almost seems to be too obvious: the law should be more enforced so there will be less accidents and deaths.
The argument remains: some people will still text and drive, regardless of how seriously police officers decide to take this law. But if you think about it, that argument can be made about any law, so it is no excuse to not take this seriously. We are all guilty of checking our phones or sending a quick response back to our “BFF”, but that does not make it any more okay or safe. Checking our phone distracts us and takes up more time than we think. Just taking a slight glimpse at your phone already takes five seconds of your attention. Checking social media, sending a text or surfing the web takes away more seconds, causing more of a possibility to swerve or get into an accident. Why aren’t more police officers pulling these people over?
Not reading or sending a text can save a person’s life. Enforcing more emphasis on not texting (or multitasking) while driving will help people more than they are given credit. It might seem like a drag to have to wait ten minutes to text your significant other, but saving your own life or not getting a ticket both seem like a fair trade. If this law is more imposed, more lives will be saved. The fact that there are more deaths from texting while rigidly driving than from a DUI is saying something. Why aren’t police officers taking this seriously? This is a law for a reason. They should do a better job at executing this.