Texting Can Wait

Throughout the day, we pick up our cell phone to send a quick text. With teens, this might happen 100 times a day. Unfortunately, too many of these teens are texting while they’re barreling down Highway 40 in a two-ton sedan.

If you have a teen in your life, urge them to watch “The Last Text,” an incredible documentary from AT&T. It might just save his or her life. Or even your own.

“The Last Text,” part of AT&T’s “It Can Wait” campaign, shares the story of four teens whose lives were forever changed because of something as simple as a text message. According to a release from AT&T, because of “It Can Wait,” more than 21,600 individuals pledged not to text and drive through the company’s Facebook page by the end of 2010.

Just how dangerous is texting and driving? I mean, it’s not as deadly as drinking and driving, right? Well guess again. Distraction.gov, a site sponsored by the U.S. Department of Transportation, reported:

• A cell phone was the reason for 18% of fatalities in distraction-related crashes in 2009 according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
   
• The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says a driver who uses a hand-held device is four times more likely to get into a serious crash.
   
• And the University of Utah found using a cell phone when driving delays one’s reactions “as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent.”

Wes Duplante of the Associated Press reported that in the Show-Me State alone, the Missouri Highway Patrol found that 791 accidents were caused by using a cell phone and driving between January 2010 and July 2010, leading to eight deaths and 239 injuries.

In fact, the dangers of texting and driving have led Missouri government to put a stop to the practice. On Tuesday, the Missouri Senate gave first-round approval to place a state-wide ban on reading, writing or sending a text while driving. While Missouri law currently prohibits anyone under 21 from breaking out the cell phone, the bill will put the smack down on all Missouri drivers.

Even with a law possibly coming down the pipeline, it’s still important to learn the facts about texting and driving. So check out “The Last Text.” It’s heartbreaking, emotional, but most important of all, educational.

By Nicole Plegge, Lifestyle Blogger for SmartParenting