Texting and Driving

In the society of today, everyone is easily distracted when they get a notification on their phones. Which can lead to some funny stuff like running into a pole or a wall. But it can also lead to the end of someone's life.

The average person drives 70 mph on the highway, and if a person were to look away for 5 seconds they would have traveled 102.7 feet. That is more than a quarter of a football field. By that time anything could've happened that would lead them to an accident. Each year, over 390,000 accidents caused by texting and driving leads to severe injuries such as broken bones, neck and back injuries, traumatic brain injuries, etc. For example, in 2013 a 22 year-old man named Alexander Heit flipped his car and rolled for a while. He died while typing a text to his friend.

Because of all the deaths and injuries caused by texting while driving, most states in the United States have made laws to try to make the road a safer place. The first offense you will be charged with a misdemeanor and can get a ticket that ranges from $25 to $50 and one on their driver license. And it just gets worse from there on out if they continue violating the law. But if you were to kill someone while texting and driving, you will be charged with vehicular homicide or manslaughter and can spend up to 20 years in prison. Although all of these precautions have been made, accidents are still growing.

The states of Missouri and Montana do not have laws to regulate texting while driving even after all of the accidents caused by it. I honestly think that there should be harsher laws for people texting while driving. It so saddening to hear that someone lost their life over a text that could have waited till later. Something needs to happen so that all of these deaths stop.