A Discussion on the Dangers of Texting While Driving

Texting and Driving

When you take a risk or do something you shouldn't be doing, it's hard to believe that something bad would happen. The idea seems impossible, whether it comes to an accident from checking a text or even passing from the incident; but tends it happens, and
no one is susceptible to tragedy. In Matt Ritchell's, "Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer", Ritchell covers the discussion of a new law that would allow police officers to inspect suspicious people of texting and driving named, "textalyzer". Ritchell quotes Candace Lightner, founder of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, by writing,"It's still dangerous, crippling, and it's a killer, and it's still socially acceptable" (RITCHELL 3). The quote emphasises how texting and driving is dangerously underestimated, and whether it's through laws and campaigns, it should be emphasized to the public.

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Police should definitely stop people who are suspected of texting and driving, as it's a regular
crime that is a safety hazard that shouldn't go unacknowledged. To not pass the textalyzer law is to ignore the immensely dangerous risks that come with texting and driving, as texting and driving is just as dangerous as driving drunk. In Ritchell's article, he repeatedly compares texting and driving to driving drunk while also acknowledging that it's at an alltime high. The dangers of drunk driving being more widely considered as taboo, is actually equivalent to texting and driving. According to Jacob Master's, "Texting While Driving vs. Drunk Driving: Which is More Dangerous?", Masters discusses the statistics between texting and driving driving and it's illicit counterpart, driving while drunk. Drunk driving seems at a marginal decrease, but the loss is being compensated by the extreme rise in texting and driving. Masters reports that a large chunk of accidents every year are the results of texting and driving by writing, ".. texting while driving is currently responsible for approximately 1.6 million accidents every year-about 25% of all driving accidents" (MASTERS 2).

Passing a laws on
texting and driving will be just the effort we need to decrease the number of accidents every year. There are a few reasons as to why people are wary about passing the law, such as disturbing private affairs or unnecessary search and seizure. The idea that privacy would be invaded should be irrelevant to the case, as cops aren't inspecting your belongings but more of your activity. When trying to grasp the "textalyzer" law, it's simple to imagine a cop taking your phone and immediately unlocking it to scroll through your pictures, but it's more of a point and click motion. Rather than looking for specifics, the officer will just scan your phone for recent activity with an item similar to a breathalyzer. There are also talks about warrants for inspection, and illegal search and seizure. Matt Ritchell also gives the argument that breathalyzer have been proposed under "implied consent", where, like breathalyzers, drivers give consent to textalyzer inspections in advance when
obtaining their license (RITCHELL 4).

Like drunk driving, texting while driving causes an impairment in your motor skills. Even though both are equivalently dangerous, texting and driving is still widely practiced socially acceptable. Accidents and fatalities to the multitaskers and skyrocketing; passing the "textalyzer" law won't only decrease these statistics dramatically, but it will also help provide the notion that it is a serious concept that shouldn't be taken lightly. It's obvious that the current system against texting and driving isn't working, and it's time to take newer measures.

Work Cited

1. Masters, Jacob. "Texting While Driving vs Drunk Driving: Which Is More Dangerous?" Brain Injury Society. 2013. Web.
2. Ritchell, Mat. "Texting and Driving? Watch Out for the Textalyzer".The New York Times. 2016. Web.

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