Last year, I almost rear ended a car that had stopped suddenly in front of me. I’m ashamed to admit that I was texting during that close encounter. It scared me so much that I vowed never again to text while driving.
On July 1, Georgia followed 15 states that ban texting while driving. Governor Deal signed the bill into law in Statesboro, home of Georgia Southern University. In 2015, a car carrying seven nursing students was struck by a trucker who was texting. Five promising students lost their lives in that preventable crash.
Georgia went so far as to ban touching a phone if you’re driving. Drivers can only use their phones to make or receive phone calls by using a speakerphone, earpiece, wireless headphone, or if the phone is connected to the vehicle or an electronic watch. Exceptions include reporting a traffic accident, medical emergency, fire, criminal activity or hazardous road conditions. Learn more about the Hands Free Georgia Act.
According to TeenSafe:
- 11 teens die every day as a result of texting and driving.
- Teens are four times more likely than adults to get in car accidents while texting or talking on a cell phone.
- One out of every four car accidents in the United States is caused by texting while driving.
- Cell phone use is highest among 16- to 24-year-old drivers.
- 94% of teens acknowledge that texting while driving is dangerous.
Don’t text and drive. Arrive alive.