Some sobering stats on texting while driving
Column: This dangerous practice needs to be made illegal, as well as 'uncool.'
By Tom Regan | May 28, 2009 edition
On the one hand, I love texting on my iPhone. My wife and I often send each other text messages when she’s in a meeting at work, or I’m on a conference call at home. We don’t bother each other, but still get the message.
On the other hand, I hate texting, especially when it’s being done by someone behind the wheel of a car (or a Green Line trolley in Boston, but more on that below).
From the urban dictionary: “Text-end: When a text-messaging-distracted driver rear-ends the vehicle in front of [him]….”
True story: About three months ago, I pulled up to a stop sign in Falls Church, Va., near where I live. A young woman in a sporty car pulled up beside me. As she pulled up, I noticed she was texting on a cellphone, barely paying attention to what was happening around her. She continued to text through the stop sign and right up to the next stoplight. My car was still next to hers, so I rolled down my window and motioned to her. She looked puzzled and rolled hers down as well. I told her that she was endangering the life of every single person on the road if she continued to text while driving. Her reply was somewhat expected. She made a rude gesture with a certain digit and roared away when the light turned.
Driving while texting (DWT) is becoming a real problem. A real and dangerous problem. It’s bad enough that people can’t seem to stop themselves from talking on cellphones while driving. (Raise your hand if you’ve almost been hit by someone talking on his or her cellphone while driving. I see, almost everyone.) But at least cellphone talkers could pay some attention to the road. Not so with those DWT.
In a survey released last week by Vlingo Corp., a Cambridge, Mass., company that develops speech-recognition technology for mobile phones (and so, of course with a vested interest in the survey’s outcome, so keep that in mind), more than 26 percent of some 4,800 cellphone users surveyed across the United States admitted they had sent text messages while driving. The worst state was Tennessee, where 42 percent of those surveyed said they had done DWT.
But here is the kicker: While more than 26 percent of those surveyed said they texted while driving, 83 percent said the practice should be illegal. (Currently seven states and the District of Columbia outlaw it.) So if my math is correct, this means that at least 9 percent of those surveyed text even though they think it’s a bad thing.
Ah, humans. The spirit is willing, but the thumbs are twitchy.
It’s likely the 17 percent who said it should not be illegal are between the ages of 18 and 29. According to a Pew Research Center study last year, 74 percent of Americans in this age group use text messaging. A lot. And DWT does seem to be inversely proportional to the age of the driver – the younger you are, the more likely you are to do it. The Vlingo study found that 58 percent of teenagers did it, as did 49 percent of those aged 20 to 29. A little more than 13 percent of those aged 50-59 did so.
But it’s no joke. And the bigger the vehicle your driving, the greater the danger. Just ask the people who were on the Boston Green Line trolley that smashed into the back of another one recently. At the time of the accident, the driver was texting his girlfriend, he admitted. Dozens were injured, the driver lost his job, and the MBTA said it would ban on-the-job cellphone use and fire anyone caught using a cellphone, pager, or similar device during working hours.
But at least no one was killed in that accident. The same is not true of the horrific accident last September in California when, it is speculated, a train operator may have missed a stop signal because he was texting shortly before the accident.
Last year, Mark Melrose of Mountainside Hospital in Montclair, N.J., a spokesman for the American College of Emergency Physicians, told USA Today that most people probably don’t initiate text messages while driving, but find it hard not to respond if they receive one.
“It’s hard to ignore the temptation,” he said. “You think, ‘This might be important, I’d better check.’ You know you shouldn’t be doing it, but you do it anyway.”
It’s time for the other 43 states to act. No texting of any kind, even (sorry Vlingo) speech texting, which still quadruples your chances of having an accident. But making laws isn’t the complete answer. Yes, it might stop older people from doing it. But I also think we need to attack DWT the way we attacked smoking, or drinking and driving. We have to deprive it of its coolness factor for young people.
Making it seem as stupid and dangerous as it really is will save a lot more lives than just saying in an adult voice, “Now kids, don’t you do that!”
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Comments
2. aphex | 05.28.09
I seriously doubt that any teenager finds DWT cool. It is just as Mr. Melrose put it:
“It’s hard to ignore the temptation,” he said. “You think, ‘Tthis might be important, I’d better check.’ You know you shouldn’t be doing it, but you do it anyway.”
And the younger one is, the harder it is to resist temptations.
3. Lisa | 05.28.09
This is just one of many issues that reflects the growing moral decay of the country and people becoming more and more selfish.
People need to realize that the world doesn’t revolve around them and be more selfLESS.
Our country needs to re-discover the joy of serving and helping others.
4. Steve | 05.28.09
When did this strange notion start with the idea that we have to be in contact with everyone 24 hours a day ? It would almost seem that we may be using constant communication as an excuse for not taking time for reflection and quiet research. I believe that our brains need some “rest and cleanup” time to process inputs.
The issue of safety is the great immediate risk. Even the youngest cell phone user/driver turns into a poor driver when talking. We older ones are even more so. For me, personally, this also includes listening to music or audio tapes while driving. I can, and do, concentrate more to the task at hand. I simply cannot even contemplate “texting” while driving.
5. Brian | 05.29.09
Moral decay and selfishness?! Chill out people! I think this is just a good example of people thinking “it can’t happen to me”. The younger you are the more likely you exhibit the superman mentality of thinking your invincible or less likely to be in an accident because you’re more skilled than “regular people.” Nothing about people has changed, just new technology to highlight our weaknesses. I admit I TWD alot, at least I did until I had enough close calls that I realized it could wait the 20 minutes until I got home.
6. Required | 05.29.09
Is another law prohibiting driving while otherwise engaged really necessary? Don’t reckless driving laws already in place cover most of these activities (texting, talking on a phone, etc.)? Or if not, could they be re-written or amended to do so? In the seven states where “DWT” is specifically outlawed, I think that’s a case of lawmakers there passing such a law to be seen as “doing something” for their next re-election campaign. Is it wise to text, talk on the phone, adjust your ipod, daydream, sing along with the radio, have a conversation, look at the scenery, etc while driving? No, it’s not. But it’s just as unwise to require a new law to specifically prohibit any of these.
9. Judith | 05.29.09
Good point, however I doubt it will do much good without vigorous enforcement. Daily I see people chatting on their cell phones going 75 miles an hour on the freeway WITHOUT the hands-free device which is mandated in my state.
The Highway Patrol, as well as other law enforcement officers, are so hampered by lack of funds that I imagine ticketing people for these offenses will necessarily take a back seat to more pressing matters.
Changing the actions of the young might take a terrible accident involving friends right before graduation to make a concrete and personal example of the dangers of DWT. Hope it doesn’t.
10. Lisa | 05.29.09
IT IS a decay of morals and selfishness, because when you text while driving your entertaining your wants and desires above the safety of those around you. And I’m not saying texting while driving makes you a horrible person, cause that’s a nonsensical notion at best.
What I am saying is if people tried harder to follow after good examples and values and put the needs of others above the wants of themselves this, and many other issues in the world today, would solve itself.
11. Just me | 05.30.09
Driving while distracted is already illegal. We do not need a law specifying texting or cell phone use. We just need to enforce the existing law.
12. Robin Marie | 06.01.09
How hard is it to pull over? That’s is what I don’t understand. If you REALLY feel the urge to answer the text, pull the damn car over and tell the other person you’ll get in touch when you’re parked.
13. Liberty for all | 06.02.09
Lisa what world do you live in? Not this one …. since when does the constitution say I can be forced to place the needs of others over mine. Thats not saying I wouldn’t but I want to choose when and to who I do. You want communism go to China. Like its been said…. you hit someone because you were distracted whether it be a rotten two year old in the backseat, a domestic dispute in the vehicle, can’t find RUSH LIMBAUGH on the radio, dropping your lipstick or texting then that is reckless driving and you are liable period. If you kill someone you must serve the penalty and pay restitution. We have a woman here in my state still sitting in jail for DWT and killing someone a number of years ago without that stupid law. We don’t need more laws on top of an already ridiculous amount of old ones. I can text with out looking at my phone and I can read it as easily as you can read your GPS that is stuck to your windshield restricting total view. They give tickets for cracked windshields due to impeding view enough is enough.
14. Marilyn | 06.03.09
The road rage and impatience that cell phone talking and texting drivers cause in others probaby causes many more accidents that are not directly and statistically linked to the root problem.
Most every morning when I’m travelling to work, someone on a phone gets so involved in their conversation that they fail to see that their light has turned green. The line up behind them has a visible rise in blood pressure. I have actually sat behind a driver who talked with arm-waving, head-bobbing intensity through two lights, completely oblivious to the honking behind him.
When things like this happen, other drivers try to cut into another lane to get going, or take risks they shouldn’t in order to make up the time missed. Being a minute more late to work isn’t worth it to me, but it’s something I see with far too much frequency.
15. Rosa | 06.04.09
Here is video of that bus driver, along with a great story about DWT laws: http://www.newsy.com/videos/texting_and_driving_your_right_or_a_new_way_to_crash
16. Katherine | 06.04.09
I’m happy to report that my boyfriend, who happens to be 17 and a half, never talks or texts while driving. He finds it so dangerous and stupid to do something like that, and doesnt understand why some other teens may engage in such a dangerous practice. I agree, and when I may begin driving in a couple months when I turn 16, I won’t be using my phone in the car AT ALL. Thank goodness some of us have common sense…!
17. renee hand | 06.05.09
You should be driving when driving and watch the road. I was stopped at a red light, looked in the rearview mirror and saw a car come up behind me with no driver. At the last minute a head popped up. She dropped her cell phone. I do not want to be mangled for life because someone had to twitter. Twitterers! Take a bus.
18. Erik | 06.06.09
“No texting of any kind, even (sorry Vlingo) speech texting, which still quadruples your chances of having an accident.”
It doesn’t increase your chances. If you flip a quarter 10 times and observe 10 heads in a row, what are your chances the next one will be heads? 50%.
It only matters whether the person can successfully be aware of driving while texting. This is no different than people talking to a passenger, taking a sip of coffee, lighting a cigarette, looking at directions, or just plain “zoning out”.
This is part of our whole country changing from “innocent until proven guilty” to “guilty until proven innocent”. It’s happening across the board from credit card regulations to the type of food we eat. Hello socialism, goodbye freedom.
19. Lois | 06.06.09
Look at the stats on this page mycellphoneiskillingme.com Scared me straight for the most part..
21. J.B. Schag | 06.08.09
Commercial truck drivers know that in any accident the commercial driver will be assumed to be at fault, partly because as a professional, they supposedly magically can avoid accidents better. Both the US DOT and state police agencies routinely obtain the cell phone records of truckers to determine whether the driver was using the cellphone (and therefore assumed to be distracted from the task of controlling an 80,000 pound projectile) or texting at the time of the accident.
However, the public might be rather shocked to discover that airline pilots also are affected by distractions from cellphones. Not necessarily when airborne, even though that happens too, but constantly during the performance of cockpit duties on the ground.
Pilots are supposed to concentrate on flight planning and cockpit duties but fall victim to cell phone distractions as well.
On the one hand a cell phone is handy. The Captain or First Officer can call company operations and get critical maintenance information that can help to avoid delays. Passengers like avoiding delays. In those cases, cell phones seem like a good thing.
But cell phones in the cockpit normally tend to offer distraction, rather than convenience.
As a First Officer I many times endured Captains yaking on their cell phones to make arrangements for their recreational activities after work like scheduling golf dates and especially alcohol drinking events. In the flying biz we call that complacency.
As a Captain I made it a leadership issue to institute a no-cell-phones-on-in-the-cockpit policy, but many First Officers would accidently on purpose ignore it, thus raising a discipline issue.
I have never heard of an airline issuing cell phones to flight crews. Crews are assumed to have them and there is no chance of a cheap airline reimbursing a pilot for cell phone minutes. They aren’t supposed to use them when it can impact safety, but they do all the time, for example when taxing after landing a delayed flight and they know their wife will be upset about yet another unannounced schedule change and ruined family plans.
Aviation is extremely unforgiving of bad attitudes and stupidity so it tends to accelerate evolution and thin out the dumb ones.
Driving a car is way more dangerous than flying simply because the bar is set so low and literally anybody can get a driver’s license. That is why I would rather be flying than driving any time.
I assume that after a few million more unnecessary highway deaths governments will eventually mandate the use of more advanced software that will limit cell phone use during driving once technology is available to identify the specific user and therefore tie user training and proficiency history to access to communications while driving.
It is useless to try to explain to a non-aviator the skills necessary to fly on instruments and that therefore some pilots are perfectly capable of safe cell phone operation while driving even while at the same time the vast majority of non-pilots are not. Instrument flying is not the same type of multi-tasking that your average Joe that talks on the phone while watching TV while drinking a beer and eating a cheeseburger thinks about. Training changes people’s brains and makes otherwise dangerous activities reasonable. But don’t expect people to give up their cell phones. Ignorance and stupidity are too powerful.
22. yo mamma | 06.09.09
dude no need for texting really you dont need to text to drive really its so unnesisary
24. YOMAMA | 06.11.09
IM DOIING A REPORT ON TEXTING WHIEL DRIVING AND WITH WHAT I HAVE RESEARCHED ITS BAD AND DANGEROUS!
25. Marsha Egan | 06.16.09
These statistics are sobering, to say the least. The irony is that it will take one or more horrific accidents for the remaining 43 states to enact any legislation.
Not that legislation will stop it, but it can add weight to the whole discussion. It used to be “Friends don’t let friends drive drunk.” How about true friends admonishing the driver of the car to “Put that dang cell phone down and drive!”
Make DWT “uncool.” That’s the only hope.
26. James | 06.25.09
I think it’s time that we use technology against technology. Many phones come equipped with GPS. Using this technology, if it is determined that an individual is moving more than 20mph, texting should be temporarily disabled until the speed has dropped below 20mph for more than 5 minutes. Calls would still be available for obvious reasons, but an option to turn off texting depending on the ’speed’ of the individual sounds like a viable solution (at least to those that would enable the function). Maybe a parental control option??
27. JrbTech | 06.28.09
I’m going to have to call B.S. on all this. Someone that is totally trashed will not response quickers to someoen who is writing small replies on their cell phones. Unless people are typing really long sentences on their phones I find it hard to believe.
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1. peter | 05.28.09
Where is there a stop sign in Falls Church that has two lanes that go straight?