Texting While Driving Illegal, Dangerous

By Kelsi McCabe

Texting while driving seems to be a real growing problem with teenagers. When a person checks a new text message while driving, it produces a distraction. The eyes are taken off the road to look at the message, one or two hands are taken off the wheel to handle the phone, and the mind is not focused on the important task at hand.

An extreme example of texting while driving appeared in an article on the Consumer Reports website (www.consumerreports.org), where 25 people were killed and 125 were injured after a commuter train in California crashed after the engineer was sending and receiving text messages.

Utah has recently passed a bill that bans all texting in the car on May 12 which will go into effect July one.

According to the Utah Department of Transportation website (www.dot.state.ut.us), first-time offenders of the new texting while driving laws will be charged with a Class C Misdemeanor, meaning an up-to-90 day service in prison and a fine of up to $750, along with an 85 percent surcharge.

If the driver causes serious bodily injury to another person as a result of texting, the charged will receive a Class B Misdemeanor, which is up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine, and again an 85 percent surcharge.

In addition to the previous charges, the judge may order a three-month suspension of the driver’s license. If the person causes the death of another person while texting in the car, the driver may be charged with automobile homicide, which is a second or third-degree felony, which is up to fifteen years in prison with a fine up to $10,000.

Utah is not the only state that has a law on texting while driving. However, it is said to be the most harsh out of all the states. The states that also have a law include Alaska, Illinois, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia, which is also stated on the UDOT website.

In a survey of 87 RHS students, 45 of them have texted while driving. Surprisingly none of the 87 have ever been ticketed for it. Only four of the students do not know about the texting while driving laws, and one was undecided.

According to the “Don’t Drive Stupid” Utah teen driving campaign website (www.dont-drive-stupid.com), Utah teen drivers cause more than three times the amount of crashes than the average driver. Also, a teen-driver crash occurs in Utah every 35 minutes.

If a student receives a text while driving, or even a call for the matter, the driver should wait until they are finished driving. The message will still be in the inbox or voicemail area which can be checked after driving.