So, people keep talking about texting and driving. A lot of people expect you to leave your phone alone when you’re behind the wheel…and some states have made it a law that you can’t even hold your phone to talk. But why? Why is texting and driving such a big deal?
Well, for a lot of reasons. We’ll go over five of them.
5 reasons not to text and drive.
1. You can travel the length of a football field in seconds.
Okay, so when you’re looking at your phone you’re not looking at the road. Obviously. And that’s kind of like driving blindfolded.
Let’s say it takes five seconds to read or send a text message. Let’s say that you’re driving at 55 miles per hour. In that time you’re going to travel about 400 feet. That’s one and one-third of a football field. And you’re not looking at the road, where there are other cars and there could be small children and trees and stuff. Or like, what if the road curves?
2. Statistics.
Well, there are a lot of numbers to back up the don’t-text-and-drive thing too.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says that…
- 3,166 people were killed by distracted driving in 2017.
- 2.9% of drivers used handheld devices while driving.
- 297 teen drivers (15-19) died in distracted driving accidents in 2017.
3. Texting and driving involves multiple forms of distraction.
When you’re texting, your brain isn’t thinking about the road (cognitive distraction.) Your eyes aren’t looking at the road (visual distraction.) And your hands aren’t actively controlling the car (manual distraction.) Therefore, texting and driving is like driving super distracted, not just a little distracted.
4. Texting and driving is against the law.
In many, many states, texting and driving is against the law. If you get caught, you would get in trouble. And is it really worth getting in trouble?
5. Car insurance.
Tickets and accidents can wreak havoc on your car insurance rates because they show that you’re more likely to get into an accident – and thus file a claim. So, if your cell phone distracts you and you end up getting into an accident because of it, you could end up with some stinky car insurance rates.
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