Connecticut Latest State to Crusade Against Texting While Driving
As an auto accident lawyer in Ventura, it’s good to see so many anti-texting campaigns get off the ground. The ability to endlessly connect with those around you has been a boon to society, but we have to be aware of the dangers that such connectedness can pose, especially in young people.
Connecticut has launched, through the support of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Ad Council, a program called “Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks.” The goal of the program is to illustrate to teens the dangers of texting while driving, by showing how a simple five seconds of distraction can cause irreparable damage.
The campaign is a result of NHTSA research which showed that 82% of 16-24 year olds have been driving and read a text message. Another saddening statistic: accidents that involved alcohol usage among teens have dropped, which should be great news, but that positive is tempered by the negative fact that teenage car accident fatality numbers have remained the same due to the prevalence of distracted driving.
The advice offered to keep teens focused on the road and not on the phone seems to be common sense. Put your phone on silent while driving so the temptation isn’t even there. Or, if it’s especially important, have a friend respond to the text. Barring that, most cell phone carriers offer a service which sends an away message that can be activated while driving. A minor social inconvenience is better than death.
In today’s day and age, I understand how important it must be for teenagers to communicate with friends constantly. I get that. But as a Ventura auto accident attorney, I can assure you that if someone is truly your friend, they can wait until you’re out of the car to get back to them. It’s better to have to call someone back than to not be able to call someone back due to an accident.
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