Teen Texting and Driving
It Must Be Stopped
The Goal
Teen texting while driving has started to become a bigger and bigger problem as more kids have cars and phones to text with. This problem must be stopped before it gets any more out of hand than it already is.
Facts
- 23% of car crashes come from texting while driving
- If you are texting while driving it is about the same as if you had had 4 beers before going on the road
- When you take your eyes off the road for 5 seconds (the average time to text and send a message) at 55 mph. you are going the distance of a football field without looking at the road
- 59% of teens say they can text and drive safely which is in generaly not true
- When people text and drive 10% of the time they are in the other lane
Stories
Anonymous-
The reason this is sooo important to me and for this area is that just a few weeks ago we lost a teacher from one of the high schools. She was heading from home to the school here in Dalton and she was texting on a straight area of the highway. At that moment an 18 wheeler was coming off the breakdown lane back onto the highway and she hit his flatbed trailer. She never knew what hit her never even hit her brakes. She was very well loved by her students.
Anonymous-
My godson, recently died in a car accident, he was 6 months and 15 days old. They were waiting to turn left at a red light and the driver who hit them was texting and not paying attention.
What States Have Laws
- Arizona, South Carolina, Florida and Montana have no bans against texting and driving
- Texas, Oklahoma, NewMexico, Mississippi, and South Dakota have partial bans
- All the other states have a full ban against texting and driving
What You Can Do
- If you are a parent or gaurdian make it an expectation to not text and drive
- Try to help raise awareness
- Put your cellphone on silent so you don't hear it
- Make sure your cellphone is somewhere you can't get it while driving
- NEVER TEXT WHILE DRIVING
Take The Pledge
I will never text and drive because it endangers others and it could harm or kill me.