Texting While Driving

By Bob Branco

People love to text. That’s obvious. It is a fast and convenient way to communicate with smart phones, as well as other forms of modern technology. It is wonderful. As is the case with other recent inventions, I’m totally amazed at what we can do today.

While many of us enjoy texting, some people forget about choosing the right time. For example, when you are driving your car, both eyes must be focused on the road so that you won’t endanger your life as well as the lives of your passengers. It is one of the first things you learn with drivers’ education.

As far as I’m concerned, it’s the most important factor when driving.

However, some drivers feel they can do many things at once, so they try to prove it by taking out their smart devices while the car is moving. Perhaps they hear the signal on their device which indicates a text message from someone else. Is this text message so urgent that you have to answer it before you stop the car? Back in the day, we got along quite well without cell phones, and messages had to wait until we either stopped the car or arrived at our destination in order to be responded to. Believe it or not, this was perfectly all right. Nobody panicked, and we managed to get through our day quite easily.

There are many serious accidents that take place because someone is texting behind the wheel of a car. I’m glad that there are new laws forbidding this behavior, and they should be enforced as much as possible. In fact, the punishment for violating these texting laws should be as great as those which forbid driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. In a sense, texting is like a drug in two ways. It’s very habitual, and it causes you not to be focused on something much more important

With all the amazing technology out there, I am surprised that no one has invented a vehicle with software that will shut off your phone when the engine starts, and won’t turn it on again until the engine stops. Why would this be so hard to accomplish? I’m not saying that you can never use your cell phone on the road. The technology is here, and there are emergencies that happen. My point is that if you need to make that phone call or send an important text, for God’s sake, stop your car first!

(Originally published in Word Matters, www.ernestdempsey.com)

About the Author

Bob Branco resides in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and is a self-published author of four books. He is a community organizer, tutors persons with visual impairments, and has written columns for local and international organizations. Bob’s web site is