Texting While Driving: Banned on Orders From Above?

Texting while driving is just over a week away from being illegal in Michigan; the law goes in affect on July 1, 2010. The goal of the new law is to reduce traffic accidents and fatalities. Since the Michigan law was passed on April 28, Wisconsin, Kansas, Vermont, and Georgia have all passed laws banning texting while driving. After a long debate, Massachusetts is likely to become the 29th state to ban texting while driving. The ban will include e-mailing, surfing the Internet, and virtually any other activity that requires “clicking and tapping.”

Everyone knows that texting while driving is a dangerous behavior that likely contributes to hundreds of crashes every year. How could they not? Even so, young drivers are constantly plugged into technology. Many drive with their phones sitting right in their lap. When it buzzes or beeps with a text message, many will grab the phone or look down to read it. The majority of teens admit to texting engaging every time they get behind the wheel.

One young teen admits that she loves the ease and speed of text messages, even while driving, and sees no need to pull over. Not all will reply to messages; some will at least wait until they get to a stop light. But, many will glance down, take their eyes off the road, and read the message, no matter how long it takes. Clearly, a driver looking at a cell phone in his hand to read a text message is an accident waiting to happen. This is not mere speculation; it is fact. It takes on average 5 seconds to look at a text message. It seems like “no time” at all, right? Think again. At highway speeds, 5 seconds is enough time to travel the length of a football field. It is, absolutely, enough time to risk your life and others.

Today, a colleague shared a picture of a church marque in somewhere, USA, that bears the following message:

HONK IF YOU LOVE JESUS TEXT WHILE DRIVING IF YOU WANT TO MEET HIM

So, the message is clear. Whether it is a law in your state or not, whether it is man’s law or God’s law, we must stop texting while driving; we must get hands free equipment; we must stop using mobile devices that distract us from our principal responsibility on the road: Driving safely.

Lawsuit Financial is a pro-justice lawsuit funding company that strongly supports a national ban on texting while driving. If you are driving to meet someone; if you are late and considering calling him or texting him while driving 70 MPH on the freeway, consider this question: Would you rather meet this person late, or meet your maker, instead? Think about that the next time you get into your car and sit behind the wheel, mobile device in hand.

Mark Bello has thirty-three years experience as a trial lawyer and twelve years as an underwriter and situational analyst in the lawsuit funding industry. He is the owner and founder of Lawsuit Financial Corporation which helps provide cash flow solutions and consulting when necessities of life funding is needed during litigation. Bello is a Justice Pac member of the American Association for Justice, Sustaining and Justice Pac member of the Michigan Association for Justice, Business Associate of the Florida, Tennessee, and Colorado Associations for Justice, a member of the American Bar Association, the State Bar of Michigan and the Injury Board.