Texting and Driving

Can anyone really ever say they have NEVER texted while driving....or read a text while driving?  Okay, those who do not have cell phones can say they never have.  Those who do not have text messaging on their cell phones can say they never have...but for the rest of us....we would have to answer that question with "yes." 

My friend and I did an experiment the other day.  I do not recommend it but I went out on a road with no traffic so if I caused a car accident we would have been the only ones hurt.

I marked off a three mile stretch...there were a few curves (not sharp curves) that I was testing my theory on.  When I approached my beginning mark I opened a text message on my phone that said, "You are an idiot for doing this."  Now go back and time yourself on how long it took you to read that phrase.  I took me about 10 seconds to get to the text message app on my phone, three seconds to read it and two seconds to place the phone back down.  In that time I went about 130 yards, crossed the white line seven times and almost missed a small curve.

Now, I tested it with a response to the text message.  My friend texted me at the starting point and opened the text and read "are we really doing this?"  I responded back with "yes."  This time I went over 200 yards, crossed into the OTHER LANE once, crossed the white line 14 times and hit the dirt on the outside of the road three times. 

Okay, no one was hurt...
No one else was on the road...
I only text and drive when it's "safe"...

Here's the thing...texting and driving is only safe when YOU are the only factor.  It reminds me of driving on icy roads...I know how to do it but not everyone on the road does.  What if on one of the times I drove on the dirt on the outside of the road a child riding a bike rode up at that same time?  What if one of the times I crossed the white line a deer ran out in front of my car?  What if the one time I ended up in the other lane a car was waiting at the stop sign and turned right into me? 

The fact is WE NEVER KNOW what other factors are out there waiting to impact our lives.  What other factors are out there that our texting and driving can impact their lives?

The simple TRUTH is JUST DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE.  We lived MANY, MANY, MANY years without the technology of texting and no life will ever change by WAITING until you are stopped to return a text message but many lives WILL CHANGE if you try to beat the odds by texting and driving and causing an accident.  It will change YOUR life if you cause an accident and are charged and convicted of homicide.  Don't let this happen to you or someone you love...watch this video.

What you need to know when your teenager gets their license to drive

One of the most exciting events in a teenager's life is also the most deadliest.

What every parent should know but is often afraid to know 

Zeisler & Associates, Attorney's at Law, PC specialize in Personal Injury. 

Information provided by:
Insurance Institute for Highway safety
and Rocky Mountain Insurance Information Association


In 2007, the latest year for which data are available, motor vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among 13-19 year-old males and females in the United States.

A total of 3,466 teenagers ages 13-19 died in motor vehicle crashes in 2009. This is 60 percent fewer than in 1975 and 15 percent fewer than in 2008.

• Thirty-three percent of deaths among 13-19-year-olds occurred in motor vehicle crashes, 39 percent among females and 31 percent among males.
• 16-year-olds have higher crash rates than drivers of any other age.
• The crash rate per mile driven is twice as high for 16-year-olds as it is for 18- and 19-year-olds.
• About 2 out of every 3 teenagers killed in motor vehicle crashes in 2009 were males.
• Sixty percent of teenage passenger deaths in 2009 occurred in vehicles driven by another teenager. Among deaths of passengers of all ages, 18 percent occurred when a teenager was driving.
• Statistics show that 16- and 17-year-old driver death rates increase with each additional passenger.

• Eighty-three percent of teenage motor vehicle crash deaths in 2009 were passenger vehicle occupants. The others were pedestrians (7 percent), motorcyclists (4 percent), bicyclists (2 percent), riders of all-terrain vehicles (2 percent), and people in other kinds of vehicles (2 percent).

• Fifty-five percent of motor vehicle crash deaths among teenagers in 2009 occurred on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday.

• In states with GDL programs that include at least five of the most important elements, there was a 20% reduction in fatal crashes involving 16-year-old drivers.

• In 2006 (latest data available) crashes involving 15- to 17-year-olds cost more than $34 billion nationwide in medical treatment, property damage and other costs, according to an AAA analysis.

How do teenage crashes differ from those of other drivers
According to the IIHS
Analyses of fatal crash data indicate that crashes of teenage drivers are more likely to be attributed to driver error. Teenagers' fatal crashes are more likely to involve speeding than those of older drivers, and teenagers are more likely than drivers of other ages to be in single-vehicle fatal crashes. Plus teenagers do more of their driving in small and older cars  and at night, compared with adults. In 2010, 17 percent of teenagers' fatalities occurred between 9 p.m. and midnight, and 24 percent occurred between midnight and 6 a.m. Fifty-five percent of teenagers' fatalities occurred on Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

The more you know, the more prepared you are the safer your child will be.  Zeisler & Associates, Attorney's at Law, PC would rather not meet you under these circumstance but should you ever need an Attorney to assist you, Zeisler and Associates, Attorney's at Law, PC will be there to help you.

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