Texting while driving has become an epidemic among teens and young adults in the United States. This dangerous habit endangers not only the texter but puts countless innocent lives at risk. National statistics show that texting while driving is one of the leading causes of motor vehicle accidents, particularly among drivers under the age of 30. As a concerned citizen I feel strongly that more needs to be done to educate people, especially young drivers, about the risks of texting and driving. Some potential solutions to curb this problem are enacting stronger laws, increasing enforcement and penalties, and launching effective public awareness campaigns.
The dangers of texting while driving stem from the fact that it is a serious distraction that takes a driver’s eyes off the road for an extended period of time. When a person is texting, their attention is focused on their phone rather than what is happening around them in traffic. Several studies have shown that texting while driving makes a driver 23 times more likely to get into an accident compared to a non-distracted driver. This is because it takes a driver’s attention away from their surroundings for an average of 4.6 seconds each time they take their eyes off the road to look at their phone or type a response. At highway speeds of 55 mph, that equates to driving the entire length of a football field blind. The cognitive distraction of having a conversation via text also slows a driver’s reaction time, which can have deadly consequences if an emergency situation arises on the road like having to suddenly stop or avoid an obstacle. Unlike drunk or distracted driving due to activities like eating or personal grooming, texting involves the manual diversion of typing on a phone which removes a driver’s hands completely from the steering wheel as well.
Statistics from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration show just how dangerous a combination texting and driving has become. They report that in 2019 alone, 3,142 people lost their lives and an estimated 400,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted drivers. Of those who died, 466 of the fatalities involved reported cases of cell phone use. Experts believe that number is likely a significant underestimate since many more accidents involve distractions that go unreported. Teenagers and young adults aged 16 to 24 have the highest proportion of distracted drivers. Some traffic safety studies have found that at any given daylight moment across America, an estimated 660,000 drivers are using cell phones or manipulating electronic devices while driving. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety warns that texting while driving increases the risk of a crash by 23 times over not being distracted at all. Those odds are much worse than drinking and driving, which increases crash risk by 4-6 times according to the National Safety Council. Clearly, texting behind the wheel has evolved into one of the most dangerous things a person can do in a moving vehicle.
On top of the risk of crashes, injuries, and loss of life, texting while driving also imposes huge financial costs on society and the economy each year. According to a 2017 report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the economic costs from motor vehicle crashes totaled over $242 billion in comprehensive costs for that year alone. A large portion of that expense is attributed to distracted driving incidents, many of which involve cell phone use. The financial toll accounts for things like lost workplace productivity, legal and court costs, emergency response, medical treatment, rehabilitation, insurance administration, and employer costs. Sizable settlements for civil lawsuits against distracted drivers who cause accidents only add to those economic damages. Put simply, the costs of lives lost, injuries sustained, and resources used due to texting while driving accidents each year amounts to billions in taxpayer dollars in the United States. Those massive social and financial impacts provide further motivation for enhancing laws and taking stronger preventative measures.
Since technology has also enabled new forms of distracted driving such as video chatting and social media use behind the wheel too, no state yet bans all hand-held cell phone use for all drivers. In fact, teenagers are still the most at risk group on the road today despite the enactment of Graduated Driver Licensing laws in most states prohibiting cell phone use by drivers under 18 years old. While many places have passed laws against texting while driving, there is still plenty of room for improvement and closing loopholes. For instance, as of 2021 only 20 U.S. states have universally outlawed all cell phone use for both hands-free and hand-held devices by drivers of all ages. Primary enforcement, which allows police to stop drivers for cell phone violations alone without needing another traffic violation as probable cause, exists in only 13 of those states. Most others restrict cell phone laws to secondary enforcement only. Additionally, a lot of places set maximum penalty fines below $100 for first time offenders that may not serve as much of a deterrent. Lengthier license suspensions and escalating fines for subsequent infractions would arguably help curb the problem better than current penalties in many areas do.
Beyond laws and enforcement, there is also a need for more awareness and education around the dangers of texting and distracted driving. According to a 2020 AT&T It Can Wait national distracted driving survey, 98% of drivers say they know the risks but 25% still self-reported engaging in the behavior in the past 30 days. Clearly, while the message is received, more needs to be done to prevent complacency and change behaviors. As with past issues like drunk driving, well-crafted public service announcements that graphically illustrate real crash aftermaths often prove effective at gaining attention. Organizations like the National Safety Council have materials available for use in high school driver’s education classes as well. Peer-to-peer outreach, social media campaigns led by motor vehicle safety advocates, and employer policies against cell phone use by employees while commuting can all help spread prevention messaging too. Tools like virtual reality videos allowing users to experience the perspective of a driver distracted by their phone may also prove very impactful with younger audiences accustomed to immersive digital content. As long as the problem exists, the effort to reduce it through awareness campaigns must be ongoing rather than one-time only.
With the evidence and data clearly demonstrating how perilous a decision texting while driving is, enacting stronger laws, increasing enforcement levels, and doubling down on education efforts seem logical next steps to curb this public health threat. As new transportation technologies emerge like self-driving cars, cell phones may become less of an on-road distraction. That future remains a long way off. In the here and now, the onus remains on establishing policies and shaping behaviors to prevent drivers, especially the youngest and most at-risk, from imperiling themselves and others on the road by becoming distracted through handheld cell phone use. Safer driving habits take time to form, but if we work together as a society and across all sectors to consistently promote responsible decision making, lives can be saved through raising understanding about why you should never text and drive. That goal is worth pursuing to the fullest through revised regulations, increased prevention awareness activities, and open dialogue that makes the dangers and ramifications very clear for all drivers today and generations to come.
Andrew Stroud