Next Gen Journal

by Connor Toohill

Earlier this week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that he would be hosting a “distracted-driving summit” in September. In his speech, Secretary LaHood particularly emphasized texting and talking while driving, even associating the dangers of such actions with those of drunken driving. This came only days after a group of Senators proposed the withholding of federal transportation funds from states that do not ban texting while driving.

A man texting while driving (Fotolia)

Over the years, the popular argument against regulating cell phone use while driving has been that most regulations would be unenforceable; it would simply be impossible to stop most drivers from using their cell phones while behind the wheel. Now, however, studies are emerging that show texting while driving to be particularly dangerous, much more so than talking on the phone. In late July, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a study which found that truck drivers were 23 times more likely to engage in a crash or near crash when texting as opposed to not texting. Similarly, the University of Utah released a study which showed that college students were 8 times more likely to crash when texting. The issue is certainly controversial, especially for members of “the next generation.” A 2008 study indicated that fully half of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 have texted while behind the wheel. So here are the questions for you:

Should state or federal institutions outlaw texting while driving? Do recent studies detailing the dangers of distracted driving make you less likely to text-and-drive in the future?