If you have a newer model car with a touch-screen navigation system, you can fiddle with it to your heart’s content while cruising down the interstate at 65 miles per hour, and it’s perfectly legal. Ditto for drivers who push the buttons to shuffle through their CD players or find a favorite song on their vehicle’s integrated Ipod/MP3 system. Some minivans and luxury cars even offer built-in DVD players with dropdown mini-screens.
But texting on your cell phone while driving? That’s too distracting and should be banned, according to some North Carolina lawmakers. They’ve filed at least three bills so far this session that would make it illegal for drivers of any age to text message, following up on a previous law that made it illegal for drivers under 18 to talk on their cell phones while on the road.
It’s obvious distracted drivers are more likely to have accidents, and studies have shown that talking or texting via cell phone is a major distraction. But so is a stereo system, a laptop computer (which drivers often have open on the seat beside them) or simply gnoshing on a muffin and drinking a cup of coffee during your morning commute. You can’t pass a law against every driver distraction, and even if you could, most of them are all but unenforceable unless an officer happens to see a driver in the act, or said driver confesses after an accident has already occurred.
Proponents of the driving-while-texting ban argue that it helps emphasize the inherent dangers of such distractions, and at least seven states have already imposed similar restrictions. Safety experts argue that texting is more dangerous than some of the other common distractions because it involves looking away from the road and also requires that the driver manipulate the cell phone while steering the vehicle. Furthermore, proponents of the ban point to some recent tragedies related to text messaging, including a California rail crash that claimed 25 lives last fall and a Greensboro fatality in which a bicyclist was struck from behind by a motorist who police said had been text messaging on her phone moments before the collision. However, if people are going to ignore common sense and drive recklessly ó and that’s what this amounts to ó is another law likely to change their behavior?
It’s hard to argue against a law designed to improve highway safety and save lives. But given the increasing level of technical gadgetry in most new cars, not to mention the proliferation of hand-held communication devices such as Blackberries, safety advocates and the driving public appear to be going in opposite directions here. As a public safety message, a texting ban might send the right signal, but no more so than a series of billboards or radio and TV ads urging drivers to focus on the road. In fact, here’s a novel way to address the issue. Send out public-service text messages that say: “Reading this while driving may be hazardous to your health.”