Why texting is more treacherous than drink-driving? (Safety tips)

 Why Texting and Driving is bad a match?

As we all know that Texting is the sending of short text messages between cell phones, pagers or other handheld devices. Messages are sent through SMS (short message service). Users can also send text messages from a computer to a handheld device. Web texting is also made possible by Web sites called SMS gateways.

Some facts:

·         More than 3,000 teens are killed every year in car crashes caused by texting

·         It has overtaken drink driving, which kills 2,700 every year, as the biggest cause of    teen deaths in America

·         Calls for tougher laws to prevent drivers from texting while behind the wheel

·         UK plans to increase fines for texting while driving by 50 per cent to £90

  

·         Some Google research:

When I search the Google with test title “texting death news”

I found about 33,300,000 results so here are many cases which warn us why texting is dangerous.

·         THE TEXT THAT KILLED A STUDENT

Texting at the wheel kills more teenagers every year than drink-driving

The parents of college student Alexander Heit, 22, released a picture of the text message he was typing just moments before he was killed in a car crash in April. They hope the image will help prevent further deaths caused by drivers using mobile phones while behind the wheel. His final text cut off in mid-sentence, because he drifted into oncoming traffic before he could send it.

The photo, published in The Greeley Tribune, shows Heit was responding to a friend by typing 'Sounds good my man, seeya soon, ill tw' before he crashed. The parents of the University of Northern Colorado student decided to release the image to try and prevent similar deaths from happening in the future. In a statement released through police, Heit's mother said she doesn't want anyone else to lose someone to texting while driving.'I can’t bear the thought of anyone else having to go through something like this,' Sharon Heit said.'In a split second you could ruin your future, injure or kill others, and tear a hole in the heart of everyone who loves you.'

New Study- Texting at the wheel kills more teenagers every year than drink-driving

Texting while behind the wheel has overtaken drink driving as the biggest cause of death among teenagers in America. More than 3,000 teenagers are killed every year in car crashes caused by texting while driving compared to 2,700 from drink driving. The study by Cohen Children’s Medical Center also discovered that 50 per cent of students admit to texting while driving.

Dr Andrew Adesman, Chief Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at Cohen Children’s Medical Center, told CBS: 'The reality is kids aren’t drinking seven days per week — they are carrying their phones and texting seven days per week, so you intuitively know this a more common occurrence.'Dr Adesman, the chief author of the study, added that the current laws against texting while driving, which has been shown to make car crash 23 times more likely, are not effective. The study comes as many lawmakers continue to push for stricter driving laws. Earlier this year, Long Island State Senator Charles Fuschillo proposed harsher penalties for distracted drivers, including increased fines for talking or texting on a mobile phone.He said: 'It goes up to $400 but all the penalties in the world aren’t going to stop someone from being irresponsible The Senator added that one possible solution would be the use of phone apps that restrict texts and a call to a mobile when it detects the phone is in a moving car.

Some schools across the U.S have introduced educational classes to try and prevent its students from texting while driving. Manhattan schoolteacher Julius Khan told CBS he urges his students to 'think about your mother and father crying over your grave or someone else’s grave that you’re responsible for killing’. ‘Pay attention to what you’re doing because the life you save could be your own,' Khan added.

The New York Institute of Technology in Old Westbury and Freeport High School has launched driving simulations demonstrating the dangers of texting behind the wheel. It comes as the UK unveiled plans to increase fines for texting while driving by 50 per cent to £90. The higher fine will also apply to a range of other fixed penalty offences, including speeding and running a red light. A new fixed penalty of a £90 fine plus three points will also be introduced for careless driving such as cutting up other drivers, tailgating, middle-lane hogging, eating a sandwich or lighting a cigarette at the wheel, or driving at an inappropriate speed. But the number of penalty points offenders receive on their licence will remain at three, sparking criticism that the penalties need to go further. There had been calls for the 150,000 or more drivers a year convicted of offences involving mobile phones to incur a six-point penalty. More than a million motorists have been convicted of using a hand-held mobile phone behind the wheel since 2003, with a peak of 161,096 convictions in 2010.

An AA/Populus poll found that 42 per cent of drivers admit using hand-held mobiles illegally and 20 per cent admit to having sent a text at the wheel. Research carried out for Which? found that texting and tweeting at the wheel caused a 79 per cent drop in the driver's attention – up to seven times more than in someone at the legal drink-drive limit. Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said: 'With both texting and hand-held use of mobile phones at the wheel causing more impairment than being at the drink-drive limit or under the influence of cannabis, the police need to target the large number of motorists continuing to flout the law.'

Tips for safe mobile phone use:

1. Learn the law. “Can I text at a stoplight?” “Is using the speakerphone safe?” Review the list of common misconceptions (PDF) about distracted driving to make sure you understand what's legal and safe.

2. Place calls before you drive. Make any important calls before leaving the parking lot, office or home. Otherwise, wait until you get to your destination.

3. Set a reminder. Download free ringtones at icbc.com/drive smart to remind yourself to leave the phone alone when you’re driving.

4. Pull over to make or receive a call. If you must make or receive a call while in your car, pull over to the side of the road once it is safe. Make sure you’re safely off to the side so you’re not posing a danger to other vehicles.

5. Take a message. Let your voice mail pick up your calls. It’s easy and much safer to retrieve your voice mails and text messages at a later time.

6. Let passengers make or receive calls and texts for you. If there are passengers in the vehicle, let them make and receive calls and texts for you. If you are expecting an incoming call or text that requires your immediate attention, let your passenger drive.

7. Plan to avoid distraction. Turn your mobile phone off, place it in the trunk of your car or in the back seat so you won’t be tempted to talk, email or text when you’re on the road