Seceral decades ago, the majority of society was collectively in agreement with the opinion that it was normal to drive after drinking. The biggest possible punishment would be a fine or the loss of a license. However, as time went on, studies and statistics began to show the truth- drunk drivers are much more capable of causing a fatal accident as opposed to sober drivers. In today’s modern day and age, the penalties are much steeper, with repeat offenders ending up in jail. This goes to show that texting under the influence of alchohol or drugs is taken quite seriously as a severe criminal offense. While this is effective and appropriate, the same consideration should be had with driving while texting.
It’s an offense that is equal to driving while drinking. As it was decades ago, people today think that it is okay to text while driving. When on the road, it is guaranteed that if you look around, you will find plenty of drivers looking down at their phones. Even when someone checks their phone very quickly, that minute is all it takes for an accident to happen. It is impossible to multitask, so once a driver decides to check their phone while on the road, their attention is diverted completely away from driving safely, and they could easily swerve, hit a pedestrian, a car, or miss a traffic light. A big problem today is that most of the people who partake in texting while driving have not experienced an accident of their own results. Those who have, understand just how dangerous the consequences can be. “I’ve done it even though I know I shouldn’t, but seeing first-hand how absolutely and horribly wrong it can go has left me looking for ways to break the addiction to my phone”. According to Geoffery James from Inc., texting while driving “makes you 23 times more likely to cause an accident”, “is now the leading cause of death among teenage drivers”, and “ kills 9 and injures over a thousand people” every day, proving just how dangerous driving while texting is.
As published by Transport Canada’s National Collision Database, the “number of fatal collisions where distracting os cited as a cause nose by 17 per cent in Canada between 2006 to 2010, from 302 deaths to 352”. It is obvious that not nearly enough is being done to prevent these deadly situations due to the fact that despite most people understanding the dangers of cellphone use, however still cannot resist using it. In addition to this, the awareness that is currently being spread, with the amount of protests, warnings and advisories from the government is not getting through to people’s heads. Temporary license suspension and steep fines are not nearly enough. There should be a strict penalty of mandatory jail time, as being locked in a cell with horrid conditions for copious amounts of time is enough to wake up any offender and make them think twice before texting while driving again. Drinking while driving is an absolute epidemic, a serious crime that endangers the well-being and life of other people. Is texting really worth the potential deaths of people? At the very least, is texting while driving really worth other people’s pain? No, because every single life matters. We are in no position of higher authority than anyone else to take the time to stop paying attention to the road and disregard our safety, as well as the safety of others. A potential death will not only affect the family of the deceased, but you will also have to life your life with another person’s blood on your hands.
