Texting and Driving Is an Epidemic and Needs to Stop

It was just about two years ago at this time I wrote a blog about texting and driving. At the time of the article, a new law in Indiana prohibiting texting and driving was still two months away. As of July 2011, it is now against the law to text and drive, but not only is it still going on, it seems like it is getting worse.. While traveling over the holiday weekend to Northern Indiana, I was amazed at how many people I saw texting and driving while traveling north on Highway 41. In one case, when the young lady looked up and saw me looking at her, she swerved to the left and was within an eyelash of completely losing control of her vehicle.

I am still amazed that people drink and drive, but texting and driving is three to four times more dangerous than driving under the influence, according to recent figures.

What I don't understand is why people continue to text and drive, knowing the dangers. Is it ignorance - thinking this could never happen to me? Is it arrogance, with people thinking they are good enough drivers to do both, or is it simply a total lack of regard for their own safety and more important, the safety of others?

I personally think it's a combination of all three, but I think it's the total lack of regard for anybody other than themselves that stands supreme. If you are texting and driving, you are putting yourself and everyone else around you in danger. Why is that so hard to grasp and what gives anybody the right to put people in that situation? Just who do they think they are?

Anyone who says, "I'm careful and I know what I'm doing", just doesn't get it. There are far more questions here than answers or solutions...questions like just what possesses another person to act so irresponsibly and carelessly? Is that text and your response to it, really that much more important than the lives of the drivers around you?

In this smartphone world, a reality check might well be in order here. I would like to see a system where your car will not operate if your phone is on. The only thing you would be able to do is call 911, anything short of that should be completely unacceptable and I believe that technology is on its way.

Serious accidents involving texting and driving are 100% preventable. If you think it's so important to check that message and respond...fine, just safely pull over to the side of the road or into a parking lot and do what you gotta do. It's that easy...it really is, but ignorance, arrogance and stupidity unfortunately, are reigning supreme right now...just stop it already!