How do you feel about people using cell phones while driving, be it talking or texting? I don’t think there’s any doubt that it splits the driver’s attention and poses a risk to those around them. In Virginia, it wasn’t illegal unless you were an under age driver, but it was certainly discouraged. I can remember being annoyed with people on the highway who were talking away and driving 10-15 miles under the speed limit, or texting as they swerved all over their lane (and sometimes between two lanes).
When we arrived in Texas last summer, I noticed right away all the signs in school zones noting big fines for using a cell phone in a flashing school zone. But then in the fall, they passed new legislation making texting anywhere in TX illegal. You can talk and use hands-free options, GPS navigation, etc., unless your city or county prohibits it. You are allowed to use it at a stop light, but not while the vehicle is in motion, and big fines have been set up for any offenses of this no-texting-and-driving law.
Case in point, just tonight, my oldest son was riding around the neighborhood on his little brother’s brand new bike…the one he got for his 10th birthday just 3 weeks ago! He’s 18, but he hasn’t gotten a bike since we moved last summer, and he wanted to catch up with my husband and daughter who were out running together. As he crossed from one side of a neighborhood street to the other, a car came off the main road making a left turn and hit him! He slid on the road and got some road rash, and his little brother’s bike sort of fell apart because the joints came loose. My husband was able to tighten it back up, except that the street took two big chunks out of the seat. Ugh! So get this…the driver stopped and checked to see if Hayden was okay…he was an EMT still wearing his name tag and carrying his medical bag. He checked him out and said he thought it was only road rash. And then he left! He didn’t call and report the accident, he didn’t offer his name or info, he didn’t offer to pay to fix the bike, and Hayden was so shaken up that he didn’t think to get the license plate or take any pictures. So he called me while I was out grocery shopping and told me about it, and I could hardly believe it! So here is the kicker…the guy told Hayden he was talking on his cell phone while making the left turn and didn’t see him! This is *exactly* why cell phone use should probably be prohibited while driving altogether, for either talking or texting.
So what are your thoughts? Is cell phone use while driving allowed, restricted, or prohibited in your state?
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