USA Today offers up an interesting opinion piece on laws that ban texting while driving. Texting in and of itself, the piece points out, is not a bad thing. In fact, texting has even saved lives, such as in the case of the Texas kidnapping victim who sent a text message from the trunk of his car that ultimately saved his life.
It’s where and when the texting occurs that presents a problem. Distracted driving accounts for nearly 6,000 deaths each year, according to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration data cited by the article.
Texting while driving, the piece notes, is not the only form of distracted driving. Distracted driving also includes things like eating while driving or talking on a cell phone. Texting, however, poses an even more serious risk because it requires the driver to take their eyes off the road.
The columnist contends that it will take a combination of education and awareness as well as laws to effect real change. The piece mentions FocusDriven, the nonprofit organization started by a Texas woman that we spotlighted in a recent blog post.
The column ends with an interesting tidbit – distracted driving was selected by Webster’s dictionary as its word of the year for 2009. We echo the columnist’s sentiments in hoping that 2010 is the year that paying attention to the road while driving makes a comeback.
If you have lost a loved one in a car accident caused by a distracted driver, contact Fears | Nachawati today to receive free legal advice from a Texas personal injury attorney.