VIDEO - Fatal Ramifications: Texting While Driving
As a Magistrate in Duval county Traffic Court here in Jacksonville, Florida, I have a special concern about people who text while driving. I saw a P.S.A. on teen drivers who text behind the wheel, and the potential disasters of that practice. The prevalence of texting has skyrocketed, shooting from 9.8 billion messages per month in December 2005 to 110.4 billion messages per month in December 2008. Sadly, it is estimated that cell phone usage contributes to approximately 342,000 car accident injuries and causes $43 billion dollars worth of damage every year!
Recent tests have even indicated that texting while driving is worse than drunk driving! Check out this YouTube video that shows the gut-wrenching consequences of texting while driving (WARNING: this video is graphic, with realistic, but potentially disturbing, reinactments). It is stunning to see how dangerous and how devastating the effects of texting while driving can be.
As I mentioned in an earlier post, a new bill is under review that will ban texting while driving in Florida. I'm sure this will be hotly debated, since people LOVE their texts! And how do we reconcile the fact that the government and news media text traffic and/or weather information to drivers? I hope that regardless of what happens, drivers will be alert and conscientious on the roads!
