It’s unfortunate that the majority of all teens think it is perfectly fine to send text messages while they are driving. States within the United States are cracking down on the act, however, by implementing new laws that regulate or ban the act completely.

Texting and driving has become such a serious matter that states such as Washington have banned the act. Most of the states, however, are simply regulating who can text and drive. It is found that those mature enough have a lesser chance of inflicting an auto accident on others as a result of poor judgment while texting and driving a vehicle.

Oddly, some states have instead opted to only ban texting while driving for certain ages. Missouri is a good example, as it bans texting while driving for any teens under the age of 21. Those over this age are still able to do it, at least by current laws. The current fine for Missouri is only $200 for those who are caught or admitted to the act- perhaps too low, as some proponents of harsher legislation claim.

Some studies show that text messaging while driving have increased the chance of an auto accident by over 400%. This can be compared to driving while under the influence, which has also become taboo in the United States. Smart parents are starting to teach their kids that if they valued their own safety, and those of others, that they would refrain from texting while driving- even if it’s only to send two words or less.

Mobile phone companies are starting to make advances in newer technologies that make the act of texting a thing of the past. Voice recognition software is one of the solutions that isn’t quite perfected. While voice recognition can get a high accuracy rate, it is never perfect. Different dialects can also be hard to track. In addition, background noise could interfere with how the software picks up different words of speech.

Taking while driving is another concern, although not as important as texting while driving. Talking while driving is a good solution if you absolutely need to talk to someone, but some states have even put legislation in to stop this. The only real solution is to have a passenger contact the person, to wait until you are done driving, or to pull over on the side of the road. That way there will be no chance of you endangering others with your talking habits.

In Conclusion

There are many documented cases of accidents reporting texting and driving as the cause. Don’t be like those who made poor choices- limit the amount of time you text while driving or abolish it altogether. It isn’t worth sending a text message at the cost of your own life.

Learn more on New Study Indicates Many Trucking Companies Violate Federal Safety Laws and Text messaging while driving and the accident risk.