I am writing this letter in support of a new law that hopes to end texting and driving. Some may be opposed to this law, but it should be seen that this law can only help. I would like to express my feelings on this topic, as it is a serious problem that negatively impacts our community and others throughout the state. Governor John Kasich and others who have diligently worked to pass this bill deserve recognition for their hard work in protecting the citizens of Ohio.
With this law coming into action soon, the hope is that drivers will fear the consequences of texting while driving and thus stop texting while operating their vehicles. It is a shame that the government had to create a law to highlight the severity of the consequences that texting and driving often creates. Unfortunately, many drivers do not understand or care about the seriousness of the possible dangers that result from being distracted while driving. It is a disappointment that drivers do not see the obvious penalties of this action, and require further reinforcement such as the $150 fine. Far too often someone has to get hurt for him or her to make a change in his or her behavior. But now a person can get a figurative slap on the wrist that will have similar effects.
The next time someone is driving and texting, they should think about who they could be hurting beside themselves; odds are they haven’t seriously thought about this. They most likely haven’t thought about this because “texting is easy to do while driving.” It is said that 55 percent of young drivers say they find it easy to text and drive; this is a scary figure because these people do not know how much danger they are putting themselves and others in.
This problem should hit home with everyone, but especially with college students like myself, because our demographic makes up a large percentage of the offenders.
Texting while driving is clearly a problem and this law should help cut down on the regularity of this behavior. It is said that up to 800,000 drivers are texting at any given moment across the country. This law has the power to decrease that number, which should increase the safety of our roadways.
According to the National Safety Council, there are over 1,600,000 accidents caused by texting and driving, or 25 percent of accidents. That statistic should scare you because whether or not you text while driving, you share a road with all of these people that do and those people pose a serious threat to you. The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration says texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to crash. I know most of us enjoy the ability and convenience of texting as a form of communication, but please, let’s not let the last expression of our lives be a few abbreviated letters on a screen. K?
Ryan Hoover is a junior studying industrial and systems engineering.
