Because texting and driving has been a heated issue for over half a decade, the editor of Car and Driver magazine decided to get to the bottom of it. In 2009, he took part in a test to see just how dangerous it is to text while driving. Since there’s no argument that drinking and driving is extremely dangerous, he decided to compare the two activities. What he found is being intoxicated added four feet to the distance it took him to go from 70 mph to a full stop. Amazingly, performing the same action while texting took seventy feet. In terms of this experiment, texting was over 15 times more dangerous than being drunk while driving!
Dangerous and Illegal
It’s easy to tell yourself that you can handle sending a text while you’re driving. However, just because you can avoid a wreck doesn’t mean you’re off the hook. If you live in one of the 35 states where texting while driving is illegal, you could be pulled over and fined for using your phone to text while you’re behind the wheel of a car.
Currently, the only states where it’s legal to text while driving are Alabama, Arizona, Florida, Hawaii, Idaho, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas and West Virginia. It’s important to note that even if you live in one of these states, there still may be laws that impact your ability to text while driving. For example, in:
- Alabama, it’s illegal for a driver who’s under 17 and has less than 6 months of experience to use a cellphone at all
- Hawaii, every county has enacted some form of a distracted driving ordinance
- Texas, it’s illegal to use a cellphone while in a school zone
Even If It’s Legal, There’s No Reason to Risk It
Although you may live in one of the handful of states where it is legal to text while driving, that doesn’t mean it’s something you should do. Since the dangers to you and anyone else on the road are real, it’s in your best interest to avoid this activity. While you may think that is easier said than done, the good news is you can keep yourself safe without completely giving up this often time-sensitive task.
If you have a new iPhone, you can use Siri to read and compose texts by using voice commands. This eliminates the need to hold your phone or take your eyes off the road. And while it hasn’t received as much media attention as Siri, every Android phone has Voice Actions that allow you to compose a text message without any finger typing. The one caveat with Android is you do have to physically press the Send button once you’ve finished dictating your text.
While some advocates want cellphone usage completely banned from cars, using this form of technology is still a better option than holding a cellphone and looking down at it while texting. Siri or Voice Actions provide a realistic way to balance your desire to communicate and the need for you to stay safe while on the road!