THE TEXT CAN WAIT

By NICOLETTE SMITH 

Is a text worth a life?  It seems as if teens and adults alike have developed an obsession with their cell phones and have let the apps, text messages, and phone calls engulf their everyday lives. With today's generation, people feel as if they cannot go anywhere without their cell phones, even if it that means endangering their lives and the lives of others. 

According to the United States Department of Transportation, “11 teens die a day as a result of texting while driving.  In 2013 alone, there were up to 3,154 deaths due to distracted-related crashes.”  Statistics like these are tragic and hard to swallow yet, every day teens, and even adults, are still trying to manage a phone and a vehicle at the same time.

NICOLETTE SMITH FOR THE WIZARD WEEKLY

Jessica Nimmo, senior at Washingtonville High School, expresses, “I think texting and driving is a very relevant issue in everyone's lives, especially us teenagers. We always hear presentations and are warned about the dangers but, for some reason, there's still a temptation to check your phone while driving.” 

The United States Department of Transportation also states, “According to an AAA poll, 94% of teen drivers acknowledge the dangers of texting and driving, but 35% of them admitted to doing it anyway.”  Unfortunately, many teens don’t understand the repercussions that come along with texting while driving, until they experience it firsthand. 

A senior at WHS, who prefers to stay anonymous, received a ticket for using his phone while behind the wheel of the car.  This resulted in his having to pay a fine for the ticket, but the effects of this action could have been much more detrimental.  “I was not mad at the time I got the ticket, but then realizing the consequences and how bad they were, and could have been, I started to stress over the situation.  Now, I keep my phone hidden in the car, so I'm not tempted to use it at all while I'm driving.” 

Instead of choosing to drive distracted and put a life on the line, there are other options to create a safer situation for everyone. People could use the hands free option if their car is equipped with that feature. This option connects drivers’ phones to bluetooth so that when they receive a text or a phone call, the car will read it out loud or put the call over the speaker.   This ensures that the driver will not need to touch the phone. 

There have also been apps created to prevent texting and driving.  One app is called live2txt. This app is useful in the prevention of texting while driving in that when a driver's phone receives an incoming call or text it, it silences the cell phone and sends a text to the person trying to reach the driver.  The text informs the caller that the driver can not come to the phone because they are driving.  These alternative options are what keeps the roads just a little safer.  

Eleven teens die a day and more than 3,000 die a year because of texting while driving.  Don't be a part of those statistics.  The text can wait.