7 Reasons Why You Should Never Text and Drive

[Anonymous]

I'm writing this because someone close to me, my brother, died because he was driving and a careless driver (who was texting while driving) crashed into him.

We have all seen the commercials. The driver takes his/hers attention off the rode to check a text message or alert, and then bam the passengers life is changed by a horrific accident, but nobody really takes these seriously.

Nobody thinks this will actually happen to them. It can and it does happen to thousands of people a year. More than 3,000 people (teens specifically) die each year in crashes caused by texting and driving.

1. It's illegal in most states

Texting while driving is banned in 46 states and I'm betting it's most likely illegal where you live.

2. Consider other passengers.

You will not only be putting your life at risk, but another innocent person(s) too. Some other innocent human being could die because of your careless behavior.

3. You are more likely to crash.

4. There's fines up to $10,000

5. You could go to jail for causing a crash

6. No text is more important then your life

7. Think about what pain you could put the people who love you, if you die just because you checked your texts/alert for a second.

Just be safe, and drive carefully.

[dangerDoge]

I agree wholeheartedly, though I found the take lacking in research to back up some claims.

So with that, lemme offer some studies and statistics I learned in class why talking on a cell phone and even hands free is bad while driving. Hands free is essentially just as distracting.

1. Estimates are that you have 4x (Redelmeier, 1997) or 5x (Strayer, Drews, & Crouch, 2006) the risk of an accident while on a cell phone, and are 4x more likely to get in an accident that injures yourself (Insurance Instituted for Highway Safety—Australia, July 2005). Driving while on a cell phone impairs one to the same extent as several drinks (Strayer et al., 2006).

2. One may be more likely to have an accident for up to 10 minutes AFTER talking on the cell phone.

3. Canadian study by Insurance Company of British Columbia (ICBC). Reviewed 3869 drivers: Took snapshots of city streets of people; matched license plate with gender of driver; reviewed insurance claims, police-reported collisions, traffic violations (esp. at-fault crashes & inattention violations)
Heavy cell phone users (135 calls/month) had twice the accident risk of rare cell phone users (<10 calls/month), even after accounting for driver age, driving habits, kilometers traveled/year, night driving, year of accident, heavy cell phone users had increase of 38% risk of accident.

4. In Strayer (2001), participants were put into a driving simulation study to test hand held cell phones, hands free cell phones, radio, and book on tape. Subjects performed a pursuit tracking task (joystick used to follow a moving target), and were told to brake to red lights using thumb position button on joystick (Detection + Response); continue on green.
RESULTS:
-- Engaging in cell phone conversations made people twice as likely to miss traffic signals and increased their response times. Listening to the radio or a book on tape did NOT have the same effect.
--- Thus, simply listening to verbal stimuli (book-on-tape) cannot account for results; is active engagement in conversation.
--- Deficits the same for hand held and hand free cell phone conversations. Thus, caused by distracted attention (not lack of motor flexibility).

5. 5. Using fMRI, Yantis found that while listening (as in cell phone conversations), visual cortex became less active (and vice versa).
--(People saying they are beset at multitasking tend to be worse)

----
(Info burrowed from my psych class I was enrolled in).

[myTake Owner]

Yeah well this mytake was really a rant I had been thinking of my brothers death a lot lately and I just felt the need to write this sorry if this lacked research to back it up

[dangerDoge]

Oh I didn't mean this as trying to be mean or anything. No need to apologize lol. I only said that as a criticism for the future because I figure more people tend to be convinced of the point if they have facts and stuff backing up the claim :)

But in any case, I'm sorry to hear about your brother's death :(

[Hopefuldreamer8]

I can't stand it when people text and drive. I just leave my phone in my purse where it belongs. My friend does it all the time, and she if anyone calls her out on it, she says she won't crash. She said that only people who are bad drivers crash when they text and drive. She says if it doesn't happen with the phone, it will happen at some other point. She says it's all about multi-tasking without getting distracted. I don't really understand the logic in this. If you're texting and driving, you're a bad driver.

[JudgmentDay]

It increases your chance of getting killed as you become distracted with typing and reading text messages. I thought they had already made new technologies that read out loud what a text message is and can also convert voice to text messages and you could do all that hands free? C'mon people, you gotta stay current with that stuff and not use it the incorrect and potentially dangerous way (s).

[legalboxers]

put the phone down and pay attention to the road. A text can wait. Also dont speed and drive and text.

[myTake Owner]

Preach.

[abundantlyrich]

I near got caught and fined by a cop once. lol.. He was so stern with me. He was beside my car and saw what i was doing. I freaked out.

I've learnt my lesson.

[Sunflower19]

Texting and driving is stupid. I don't know why people do it. I'm sorry about your brother by the way!
Yes, it's illegal in New Mexico! Thank God..

[Oram52]

No one has the right to put anyone else in danger. Whenever someone is driving and texting I immediatly ask them to stop doing it. Its dangerous for the passengers themselves. I completely agree.

[Dred1614]

I'm so sorry for your loss. I never text and drive.

[myTake Owner]

Thank you. And I'm glad you don't text and drive 🙌🏻

[sp33d]

There's one reason and that's "watch the f***ng road". You can't do that when you're fiddling around in your phone.

[Grace_Rdz]

Yeah, I have to stop texting while driving like, now.
Thanks for the MyTake

[Waffles731]

I'm so sorry about your brother,
I do know that texting and driving is even worse than drunk driving

[davepetef]

Worse? Couldn't even say "just as bad"

[Waffles731]

@davepetef Thats because it actually is WORSE you aren't even looking at the road

[front2back]

I have a manual transmission, can't do it anyways lol

[Other_Tommy_Wiseau]

i.ytimg.com/vi/MQyLR7SvDIA/maxresdefault.jpg

[orphan]

number one killer of teens is texting and and driving.

[Anonymous]

Wow thank you... I see young n old people do it all time. Alaska highway speed 65 mainly fast lane go 75 :( Texas too.
It's sad. I get real bothered...

[SweetHomicidalQueen]

-you could die
-it's illegal
-you could kill someone

the basics

[lonerider]

Just 1 fucking reason:
LIVES ARE PRECIOUS

[QueenofSexyFoxes]

Im really sorry about your brother :(

[Amilaheart]

I'm so sorry about your brother :'(

[singlebee]

Nice take!! Liked it.. :-)

[ConsultantIsBack]

I text and drive way too much lol

[davepetef]

Hilarious... fucking moron.

[ConsultantIsBack]

@davepetef did someone forget their Zoloft today? How many personality disorders can you gag freaks get lol

[myTake Owner]

Well if you're going to text and drive please be careful. I strongly advise against texting and driving though.

[ConsultantIsBack]

Yeah I shouldn't ever do it, correct

[Gommers]

^ One reason you shouldn't post my takes

[myTake Owner]

And what's that

[Gommers]

Your whole mytake.

[myTake Owner]

Okay lol

[myTake Owner]

Well I don't know I've gotten a lot of good feedback so I don't know why you would say that. Please explain.

[Dred1614]

@Gommers Point out exactly what is wrong with it.