Texting and Driving - Is this Really a Dangerous Combination - Research Paper Example

Texting and Driving: Is this really a dangerous combination? “As of right now the last time I've seen Ronnie was on Friday, and it's just tearing me apart inside because I haven't seen him yet,” she said. “This is the first routine day without him, and it's really hard, I didn't get a 'morning Mom; have a good day Mom'” (Schudiske). These are the anguish filled words of a mother who lost her 15 year old son, Ronnie Scroggins due to the dangerous combination of texting and driving. It was in the wee hours of Sunday morning, March 18, 2007 when 19 year old Sela Anne Kalama with 6 of her friends, which included Ronnie Scroggins, was driving near the Elwha River in Washington. Before they started the drive, all the friends were at a party in a house, where Kalama had drunk beer, and with the wish to party all night they drove the car through the Reservation areas. Shortly after 4:30 a.m., Kalama drove the car off the Lower Elwha Road and into the Elwha River. She and four other friends escaped from the drowning car and swam ashore, while Ronnie Scroggins and Vanna Francis, 16, were unable to get out of the car, drowned and suffered a struggling death. The one key factor that emerged is, Kalama was texting on her phone. To get directions in that area, Kalama was texting a friend, lost control and plunged into the river. “The plea agreement also detailed what other witnesses told police. Two of the front seat passengers say that KALAMA was texting on her cell phone before the car crashed into the water” (United States Attorney's office). The death of Ronnie Scroggins and Vanna Francis was a grave tragedy for their families, friends and even to their communities. As seen in the above pointed out aching words of his mother, Marla Tolliver, Scroggins’ death was too grave for her to come to grips with it. Although, Scroggins was her adopted son, they shared 15 years of life and a bond, which was broken by his death, caused by another individual’s preventable mistake. The sorrow and pain in the family of Vanna Francis were no less. Melanie Wheeler, her cousin, has this to say about Francis, "(she) was part of the dance and drum groups, really active in the culture and the community. Everybody here is having a really hard time right now” (My Death Space). The death of these two students also made deep impact among the entire community with their friends and even tribal leaders from all over Washington, attending their funeral. Between tears, one of the leaders told those at Friday's memorial to love the youth of the tribes, to find ways to prevent tragedies like last Sunday's (Trick). This accident and the resultant grief caused by texting did not let the culprit, Kalama remain unscathed. She was sentenced to more than two years in prison, and she was also required to spend another three years on supervised release. In those three years, she has to abstain from any alcohol and has to perform 200 hours of community service. Although, much higher sentence was expected, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle told Kalama that there was no sentence he could hand down that would punish her more than the profound guilt that she felt at causing the loss of her two friends’ lives (United States Attorney's office). So, that guilt will be in her mind for a long time, and it will surely affect her life as well as that of her family in various aspects. The above is a dramatic illustration that demonstrates how dangerous it is to drive and text behind the wheel. In just a matter of seconds accidents do happen, ones that could have been avoided if the phone had not been picked up or just turned off. Almost all of us have a cell phone today which makes communicating with others very convenient. It has been reported that 81% of the population in the United States admit to driving and texting, in spite of knowing the dangers (Naik). Text messages are a fast and easy way for the teenagers to update among themselves about what is happening in their ‘circles’, but it is not at all a good practice to do it while driving the car. Texting places your eyes off the road and onto your phone. It is your or each driver’s responsibility to place 100% attention on driving your car, watching the cars around you and also watch for any unexpected conditions on the road. Although, we all feel confident in our multi-tasking abilities, the point is, it should not be done behind the wheel, when other lives are at stake. The bottom line is, to drive safe you need both hands on the wheel, and your eyes and ears on the road, all of which are compromised during texting and driving. We have 30 states that have laws against texting while driving now, but people are still disregarding these laws. Below is the new law in Georgia on texting and cell phones that went into effect on July 1st, 2010: Senate Bill 360 states: No person shall operate a motor vehicle on any public road or highway of this state while using a wireless telecommunications device to write, send, or read any text based communications, including but not limited to a text message, instant message, electronic mail, or internet data. So, if you are stopped in Georgia for texting you will be fined $150 and given one point against your license (Georgia Text Messaging and Cell Phone Laws). After speaking to an officer in our local police department, I was told that only a couple of texting fines have been issued since our new law took effect on July 1st. The officer stated that this was due to the fact that is hard to prove that the drivers are texting and driving. Because of these new laws texters’ have figured out a way around being caught. They are lowering their phones near their laps so they cannot be seen from the outside (Kotowski). Due to this the accident rate is increasing even more now. A study was done by the Transport Research Laboratory which concluded that it took an average of 63 seconds to compose a text message while driving and only 22 seconds at your desk. Normally, in one minute your car can travel at the in town speed of one half of a mile and more than a mile on the highway (Nugent). And in that one minute of being distracted it only takes a few seconds to have a deadly accident. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported that nearly 80 percent of all car crashes are caused by distracted drivers, and most of them were texting at the time (Vernon). Our laws are not harsh enough to punish an individual like Kalama, who caused a serious accident and took others’ lives. Why not make the laws for texting and driving as severe as the laws for DUI offenders. Many research laboratories have run test studies proving that texting while driving is more dangerous than drinking and driving. We are all outraged about someone drinking and driving; now it is time for us to be outraged about all the accidents caused by texting and driving as well. The other worrying statistics is, drivers between the age of 18 and 20, who are involved in accidents while texting, are four times greater than others from different age groups (Watts, Guerra, and Craft). We do have some helpful products in the market place now that will control the use of cell phone while driving. One of these products is call “iZUP”, which is a software program that you download to the phone. Once you exceed a preset speed the software is activated and all messages, e-mails, and calls are put on hold. It also prevents all outgoing communications except for 911 calls. This product can be purchased at Android Market or downloaded from BlackBerry App World with a price around $19.95 per year (iZUP). At this price it should be placed on all teenagers’ phones. We all have become too accustomed to checking our e-mails or sending text while behind the wheel. This has got to stop! When you get into your car, bucket up and turn your phone off. No message or call is worth the risk you are taking. I do not want any of my family, neighbors, and friends to be part of a crash caused by you, which could have easily avoided. Works Cited Amazee. “Texting and Driving.” n. p, n. d. Web. 4 Dec 2010. Casey, James. Neah Bay teen remembered for his love of basketball. Peninsula Daily News, 24 Mar 2007. Web. 6 Dec 2010. “Georgia Text Message and Cell Phone Laws.” n. p, June 2010. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . iZUP. “iZUP Prevents Distracted Driving.” n. p, n. d. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Kotowski, Jason. “Texting and Driving a Dangerous Combination But Some Teens Continue Doing It.” n. p. 27 Feb 2010. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . My Death Space. “Vanna Francis (17) was one of two teens to die when their car plunged into frigid river waters.” n. p, 20 Mar 2007. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Naik, Abhijit. “Texting While Driving Statistics.” Buzzle.com. 15 July 2010. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Nugent, Helen. “Texting While Driving is More Dangerous Than Drink-Driving.” The Times 18 September 2008. Schudiske, Eric. “It's tearing me apart inside.” Komo News. 20 Mar 2007. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Trick, Randy. “Port Angeles girl eulogized as 'an angel' during Elwha rites.” Peninsula Daily News, 24 March 2007. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . United States Attorney's office. “QUINAULT TRIBAL MEMBER SENTENCED TO 26 MONTHS IN PRISON FOR CRASH THAT CLAIMED TWO LIVES.” Department of Justice, 7 March 2008. Web. 4 Dec 2010. Vernon, Amy. “Texting While Driving is Dangerous. Really.” Hot Hardware. 14 July 2009. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Watts, Guerra, and Craft. “Texting Driving Deaths.” Texting Driving Deaths, 9 May 2010. Web. 4 Dec 2010. . Read More