http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090520/lf_nm_life/us_driving_texting
So I have a few problems with this:
1. Since when is it ok to not be looking at the road when you're driving??!!
I think somewhere along the line people forget that they are operating a very large machine that can kill and maim others in only seconds. I've also noticed the growing trend that people don't talk to each other face to face anymore so their social lives are at risk if they wait longer than 3 1/2 seconds to respond to a text message.
But who cares about other people's lives? Those non-texters and pedestrians are, like, waaay out of touch with, like, modern technology. So it's their own fault if they, like, get in the way of my car. I really really really need to send messages to my friends and neighbors at every second of every day.
2. I thought it was funny that states with texting bans are the worst offenders.
Why do people text more now that it is banned? As for me, whenever things become "against the law" I feel this strange urge to suddenly be baaaad. That is why I do things like jay-walk and steal traffic cones. I also enjoy doing drugs (only the illegal ones) and breaking and entering. I only do things that are against the law because it makes me look tough. When I walk by, people whisper things like "She takes no crap from nobody" and "Look how she rebels against authority and common sense, isn't she AWESOME?!"
I really don't break the law, but I do jay-walk sometimes. And if I MUST send a text to someone I could very easily talk to in person or on the phone as soon as I'm done driving, I do it at a red light. And did people ever realize that laws in place for a reason? Except maybe the stupid ones. Like allowing blind people to hunt in northern Michigan. Consider this:
"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few"- Spock
3. Will the police even do anything about the texters?
I want to believe that they will fine anyone and everyone they see who are texting while driving in a state where it is banned. But I also wanted to believe that the speeding cop with a blaring siren stopped at the Wendy's drive-thru because someone was holding up the store and not because he was really hungry and didn't want to wait in line.
I am cut off at least four times every day, people do not use their turning signals, women in vans speed through crosswalks with babies hanging out the windows and every person on the freeway is on a cell phone. But how many times have I seen one of these people ticketed? NONE.
It's a good idea to ban texting, but like most laws people will break them all the time and no one will do anything about it. Such is life.
So until all the teeny-boppers with cell phones grow up and get their drivers' licenses, consider yourself relatively safe. When that day comes in about 1-4 years, you may just want to start working from home and avoiding strip malls, Del Taco, high schools, Wal-mart (and everywhere else they go to giggle) entirely.
