Safety concerns grow as more drivers text
by Dan Rzewnicki, Editor in Chief
March 2, 2011

After drifting across three lanes of traffic I slammed into the wall hard. Dazed and in disbelief, I put the wheel down and looked at the open cell phone in my lap and the unfinished text.

I had been answering a question. “Are you good at texting and driving?”

“Apparently not” was my unfinished response.

 I was attending the ARIN Student Leadership Conference and the conference message was all about safe driving. My fellow students and I had been instructed to play the Wii game Mario Kart and text at the same time. Very few of the students succeeded in even crossing the finish line, let alone winning.

While the atmosphere was fake, the message was real: texting and driving is dangerous.

Many of the statistics seem to point in the same direction. According to the Washington Post in a study by the National Safety Council, 28 percent of accidents occur when a driver is using a cell phone while driving. That statistic is not hard to believe, considering using a cell phone while driving can slow a teenager’s reaction time to that of a 70-year-old’s.

Furthermore, station commander of Pennsylvania State Police Troop D in Kittanning, Lt. Tom Dubovi said that accidents involving cell phones and texting are probably even more prevalent than statistics show.

In a recent survey of 59 LAHS juniors and seniors, 42 percent of those surveyed admitted to texting and driving, yet 85 percent said they thought texting and driving is a dangerous practice.

So, if texting and driving is dangerous, why do it? Maybe things haven’t been put into perspective yet.

Senior Mariah Rattay said that while she does not text and drive, she does talk on the phone while driving, saying she feels safe because her eyes are always on the road. But is simply talking on the cell phone really safer, or even safe at all?

Studies at the University of Utah found that of 200 people assessed, only 2.5 percent were able to safely talk on the phone while driving.

That’s five people – five out of 200.

For the 97.5 percent of other drivers unable to multi-task, the time to hit the brakes when needed increased by 20 percent.  Also, those drivers had a 30 percent longer following distance – the distance between them and the car in front of them – disrupting the flow of traffic and making drivers around them uneasy and distracted.

This study only assessed the ability of people to talk on the phone and drive, not to text and drive too.

Not to mention the study used hands-free cell phones.

One of the 42 percent of LAHS students surveyed that admitted to texting and driving is junior Lucas Teagarden. He admitted that when there is little traffic or he is stopped at a stoplight, he pulls out his Droid to send a quick text. 

Teagarden said that he does not text with other passengers in the car, meaning he is responsible only for his own safety. However, 18 percent of students said that having another passenger in the car does not stop them from using a cell phone and driving.

Lt. Dubovi said that, both as a police officer and a parent, he is always surprised at how oblivious drivers involved in texting and driving accidents are. “They have no awareness of their surroundings and they are operating a potentially dangerous machine,” he said. “Some accidents can’t be prevented, but these easily could be.”

Rebecca Hollerman, Leechburg’s SADD Club adviser, is doing her part to stop texting and driving. Hollerman said that she wanted to be the SADD club adviser because “I had friends in high school that made really poor decisions, and I realized I never did anything to help.”

Hollerman is now doing her part to combat destructive decisions, especially ones involving texting and driving. She joined the club on the field trip to the ARIN conference and has planned a “Grim Reaper” activity in which students are “killed” and then unable to interact with their classmates. One of the reasons for the student “deaths” will be texting and driving.

Twenty-five states have legislated bans on using a cell phone and driving, but there is little to be done to enforce these laws other than handing out fines after the damage has been done. 

According to Edgar Snyder’s law firm, nine teens are killed every day in car accidents. Don’t bring this number up by texting and driving. No text is worth dying for.

Posted by "Kelly Klingensmith" on March 21, at 12:30 p.m.

I'm not going to lie about this situation. Sometimes, I text while I am driving. However, the only time I do if it is my mother or it is an important situation. Lately, I have not texted at all while I am driving because I do not want to wreck my car. Also, I don't text while I am driving anymore because I do not want to put my life at risk and also I do not want to put other people's lives at risk. No text is as important as life, so stop texting while driving!

Posted by "Garrett Miller" on March 20, at 11:13 p.m.

Texting and driving is definitely a problem in today's society. I see people all the time texting while driving, and I am 100% against it. I can't believe when I see adults texting while driving in front of their kids! This demonstrates to younger generations that it is acceptable to text and drive, a practice which is not safe for anyone.

Posted by "Tyler Dubovi" on March 14 , at 7:28 p.m.

Dan, I am glad to see you think this an important issue too. I have talked to my father about this many times before. He is always coming home with new stories of car accidents and encouraging me not to text or even call while driving. I believe laws and regulations should be put in place on using cellphones while driving. Anything to reduce the number of serious or fatal injuries should be done to ensure the safety of all drivers.

Posted by "Melinda McCorkle" on March 7, at 1:11 p.m.

I agree! Seeing people texting and driving is so scary. I think driving while texting is worse than driving while intoxicated.

Posted by "Kiersten Horrell" on March 3, at 2:13 p.m.

Dan your articles are so informative. I didn't realize some of the statistics for texting and driving. I know that I need to be more cautious when I am driving. I also need to be aware of the drivers around me because their texting and driving could put my life in danger.

Posted by "Anne Brady" on March 3, at 2:02 p.m.

Dan, I think this might be the first article that you have written that did not make me laugh. However, I still like this article. I think it is important that all teens, parents and drivers should be aware of the dangers of texting and driving. The statistics and quotes in your article made me realize how unsafe texting and driving really is. I will definitely be more cautious to not pick up my phone the next time I am in my car!