Everyone knows about texting and driving. Maybe you’ve seen someone do it or you yourself has done it before. It is among one of the most dangerous forms of distracted driving and it’s more dangerous than you’d think. According to studies, cell phone use behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. High school students who reported frequent texting while driving were less likely to wear a seatbelt and more likely to drink and drive. There have been many studies done in the past and the results change over the years because texting and driving has been becoming more of a problem not just for teens, but for adults too.
Texting and driving can be deadly. It causes approximately 1.6 million car accidents every year. In the U.S, 14 percent of all fatal crashes involved the use of a cell phone. In Utah, it is against the law to text and drive and there’s a lot of consequences for it. If an individual is caught, they can face up to three months in jail and up to a 750 dollar fine. Teen drivers are four times more likely than adults to get in an accident involving a phone. Eleven teens die everyday in the U.S as a result of texting and driving.
Texting and driving is learnt behaviour meaning that an individual develops that habit out of experience. Maybe that person has seen others doing it and doesn’t see it as a problem, and it slowly develops into their daily driving life. It’s important to practice getting out of that habit; by doing so you’re learning to put less people’s lives at risk and your own. Texting and driving doesn’t only affect you, but it affects everyone on the road as well. Drive safe and make smart choices.
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