Hello Whyvillians and welcome to my first article in the Whyville Times. I'm here today to talk to you guys about a serious subject and give you a few opinion and tips on texting and driving.
First and foremost we all know some of us don't drive but that doesn't mean we can't prevent someone from texting while driving. You can do many things even if you don't drive.
For instance, when your parents are driving and they start to text or even call, you should tell them, "Hey Mom/Dad don't do that! That's not safe to do while driving." There are many things you can do to help prevent dangerous accidents. Only you can prevent dangerous accident by simply turning off your phone and putting it away.
According to a New York Times survey, the dangers of texting while driving is worse than drinking and driving. The recent study says that although a drunk driver is under the influence of alcohol they may be effected by poor reaction time of .64 seconds, they are less likely to take their eyes off the road. But texting forces a person to look away from the road making situations much more dangerous. It is also stated that a normal driver had a reaction rate of .57 seconds while the most shocking result was that a person who drives and texts has a reaction of rate 1.36 seconds. You do the math. The slower, the reaction time, the more likely the person can be a in a car accident. So remember if the message is really that important and it's an emergency, you should always pull over.
Through out my research of this subject I also asked some Whyvillians what they though about this.
Freakzo: What do you think about texting and driving?
ir0nheart: I honestly don't think it is right, I mean it has shown it causes more accidents. If, you park for a minute, to answer back, or tell them you are driving, and will answer it later, it will be more acceptable. Texting and driving, a law about it passed in my city, last year. I think it helps prevent accidents. Texting and driving is not right, you can use a hand-free phone or device, when you are on the move, and find that more affective if it's really "necessary" to do be using your phone.
sctupelo: I find it very idiotic and do not understand how people who text and drive can be so inconsiderate of other drivers. Not only are they putting themselves in danger, they are putting others at risk too. People need to be aware of their surroundings while they are driving and turn their phones off.
Jakeheart: It is unnecessary, accidents could happen. We can't text and drive same time because it will decrease our concentration in one specific task. For these reasons, we shouldn't text and drive.
iamsum1: Me personally I think it's kind of silly. Why do you need to check your messages. Especially since you're driving . . . If it was an emergency I think they would have called them . . . Since calling in my opinion is way quicker . . . Ugh, people just don't understand.
redblue29: There is NOTHING that could be so important to put both your own life and EVERYONE around you at danger. If there is something that important, either a.) make a phone call if you have a hands-free device, or b.) pull over and send the text message.
Rbd1fan: It's not cool, I mean I love my cell phone but come on put it down for the time you drive. Your life is more important than texting.
Author's Note: Sources:
http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/technology/series/driven_to_distraction/index.html
http://learning.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/11/30/evaluating-polling-methods-and-results/
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02textingside.html
