Eyes On the Road

According to Edgar Snyder & Associates, “21% of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and 19 were the result of cell phone usage. This result has been expected to grow as much as 4% every year.” A scarier statistic is that almost “50% of all drivers between 18-24 are texting while driving (Edgar Snyder & Associates).” As a teenager that falls in between this category I think that texting while driving is a bad thing.” I think that you should be pulled over for texting, but only if you are doing something else that is against the law for example if you are speeding” (Dineen). I don’t text or talk on the phone while I am driving. I have the person in the passenger seat text for me. I think that texting while driving is a bad thing because it takes your vision off the road. Even if you are fast and you don’t have to look at the keys you shouldn’t be texting. While you are driving you should always have your hands on the wheel, you should have the person sitting next to you text for you or you should wait until you stop driving to get a hold of the person. But I do know people that do text while driving and it is a bad habit to have.


What the current laws are that are for Massachusetts, is that they don’t have a law that bans hand-held cell phones, young drivers all cell phone ban, or texting ban. All they have is that school bus driver’s cell phone ban (Cell Phone Laws). Also the laws that they have now for cell phone bans, is only a primary law. This means that it hasn’t gotten passed yet by the State Representative. While you are texting while driving, it takes your eyes off the road so you can’t see what is going on around you. After interviewing Officer Dineen, he had also said the same thing. But he gave an example, which was that “he saw a women driving and she was swerving all over the road and he had thought that she was under the influence of alcohol. But when he had pulled her over and asked her what she was doing, she said that she was texting” (Dineen). How I think that the laws should change would be that they should not have a hand-held cell phone, all young drivers should all have cell phone bans and lastly, there should be a texting ban. Now a days everyone knows how to text. Rather then back in the day when it was the 90’s people didn’t know that texting even existed. When I was younger, I didn’t know that texting was invented. I didn’t know what texting was until I got to middle school, because my older siblings used to text all the time.


I believe that texting while driving is the most dangerous thing that you could possibly do while you are driving. I think that because you can get into any accident at anytime. When you are texting, your eyes are off the road for possibly for a split-second. Even if you think that you are fast at it and you don’t have to look at the keys, you could hold it up infront of your steering wheel, which could still cause you to get into an accident, “civil infraction, possible cause to pull you over also” (Dineen). One must stay focused on the act of driving, distraction could cost lives. What I think that he is relating to is that besides texting, you should have another reason for being pulled over. So if they see that you are texting, they couldn’t automatically pull you over, you have to be doing something else for the reasoning to be pulled over. “A civil infraction would be speeding, driving erratically; your car hasn’t passed an inspection. He said that even when he is “on the job” he even texts his daughter. He says that even though it is bad, but when his daughters texts him he usually always answers them back. Which would take his eyes off the road but then he would also be stopped somewhere. He also said usually when he is replying to one text message; she sends another one because he is slow at texting “(Dineen). I think that since he is a police officer, he shouldn’t be texting while driving either.


There are no laws against using your cell phone while driving. I think that there should be a law that has to ban cell phone usage while driving. If I were to write the law about cell phone usage while driving, I would say that you shouldn’t be able to use your phone at any time. Unless you had an ear piece, and then you should be able to. But the major thing that they should ban is texting. Even if they don’t have another reason to be pulled over, if they do see then texting while they are driving they should be pulled over automatically. After interviewing Officer Dineen and asking him what he thought the laws should be, he said that they should have a civil infraction, and possible cause for being pulled over. So if they are speeding they should be pulled over, but also if they are found texting at the same time as they are being pulled over they should be given a ticket for that too. After hearing what he had said about the law and what he wanted it to be changed to, I think that it is a good thing to do, because if they are just texting, then it wouldn’t make sense to be pulled over for. They should have another reason for being pulled over besides texting.


I think that not only teenager’s text while they are driving, but I think that adults do it also. I also think that teens do it more often and that they are fast and they can move there fingers faster than adults. Even though I am fast at texting, I don’t do it. I have been in the car with someone while they are texting and even though they are fast at it, they were still driving erratically. As they were texting, they would have me hold the wheel for them. Teenagers sometimes don’t have to look at what they are typing while they are. But also I’m sure that adult’s text also as they are driving, even though they aren’t fast. “Adults do it also, they do it worse because they can’t text fast enough” (Dinneen). After hearing what Officer Dineen has to say about adults also that text while driving, besides teenagers doing it also. I think that it is a bad thing for both teenagers and adults to do because it takes both of the teenagers and adults eyes off the road. When adult’s text I think that it scarier because they have their eyes off the road for a longer amount of time then a teenager would. Adults are slower at texting then teenagers are because they have to look at the keys while they are driving. Teenagers remember where the keys are on their phone so they don’t have to look at the keys when they are typing. But it should also become a law for not texting while driving because you are more paying attention to what the text says than rather what the road is like in front of you.


This is an important topic to me because teenagers now text all the time. They can cause accidents while they are texting because they take their eyes off the road. When they take their eyes off the road they are dangerous to themselves and to other drivers. After looking at the statistics and what my interviews have said, they make it seem like the laws have to be passed. Since I am a young driver, I think that the law should be changed so that Massachusetts is a safer state.








Works Cited

Officer Dineen, Personal Interview. 9 April. 2010
Cell Phone Laws. “Laws restricting cell phone use and texting.” 1 April 2010. http://www.iihs.org/laws/cellphonelaws.aspx .
Cell Phone Statistics. “Car Accident Cell Phone Statistics & Driver Text Message Facts.” 1 April.2010 http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car accident/cell/statistics.html