Junior Nikolette Sullivan looks up at the rear view mirror only to see a car speeding toward her. Seconds later she feels the impact of the car caused by the distracted driver as she jerks forward. Sullivan’s truck was rear ended by a driver who was busy texting rather than watching the road.
“I’m way too scared to risk my safety and the safety of those around me,” Sullivan said. “Sometimes it’s easy to forget that there are other people on the road who possibly have their loved ones inside the car, but after the accident I’ve been extremely aware of fellow drivers.”
Sullivan was heading home on Main St. when her truck was hit by a fellow student. The unknown driver car was totaled in the accident. According to psandb.com the leading cause of death for 15-20 year olds are vehicle crashes, also a study conducted by the Pew Research Center indicates that one in four American teens of driving age say they have texted while driving.
“After recovering from the initial shock, it hit me that I could have been severely injured,” Sullivan said. “It made me extremely angry, and that’s when I decided I would never text and drive.”
Distracted by a text the unknown driver was unaware that she was approaching Sullivan’s truck stopped at the intersection. Sullivan believes that the accident could have been avoided if the driver had not been texting.
“Texting while driving is extremely unsafe and it’s the cause of so many avoidable accidents,” Sullivan said. “I don’t see the point in risking lives.”
Junior Lane Wright believes texting while driving can be avoided by waiting until an appropriate time to reply. Wright has admitted to texting while his car was in idle, but has never texted while driving. He also becomes uneasy when he sees drivers along side him texting, and attempts to pass them.
“I feel like texting while driving can be extremely dangerous at times,” Wright said. “I think texting while driving is worse than driving while intoxicated.”
Wright has been a passenger in friends’ cars while they used their phone, he advises them to wait until a better time and avoid a wreck. Wright’s persuasion paid off, now his friends refrain from the distraction.
“Society down plays texting while driving,” Wright said. “I never hear about accidents that are a result of texting on the TV or news.”
Others such as Matt Shimp, 12, feels like texting while driving is not always as dangerous as its made out to be. Wheeler admits he has texted while driving.
“If texting while driving is as dangerous as driving under the influence then there ought to be laws prohibiting it, just like there are laws prohibiting driving while intoxicated,” Shimp said.
Until laws change prohibiting texting while driving, Shimp admits that he will continue to do so. However, House Bill 2730 and 339, enacted recently by the 81st Texas Legislature, restrict all drivers under the age of 18 from using a wireless communication device while operating a motor vehicle
“Either pass a law prohibiting it, or come out with something that would allow me to speak what I want to text, so I wouldn’t have to take my eyes off the road or my hands off the wheel,” Shimp said. “Until then, I guess I will continue the unsafe practices of texting while driving.“
Scott Mueller,11, also admits that he has texted while driving, but he was texting his mother.
“I feel that with the pace of modern day society people always feel like they need an immediate
response and I can’t afford to not text back,” Mueller said.
Mueller feels that blatantly ignoring a text is not an option because if he does not reply then he’s going to miss something vital.
“Although I do text while driving, I don’t really think it’s worth the risk,” Mueller said.
Being a teen driver who knows the risks of texting while driving, Mueller fears the consequences of other drivers partaking in such a dangerous distraction.
“The idea of other teens texting while driving makes me nervous because if someone like me who thinks texting while driving is a big deal does it, what about the people who think it’s not,” Mueller said. “They may be ever more reckless about it.”
Mueller was right in his assumption that driving while texting is reckless. In studies done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute drivers were 23 times more likely to get into an accident while texting and driving. Texting while driving has been deemed more dangerous than driving drunk, and the worst diversion on the road.
“I think you can wait to answer a text, no matter how urgent it may seem,“ Sullivan said. “The safety of other people should be the main priority of every driver while on the road.”