The dangers associated with texting while driving have led to bans on the activity in 13 states. Officials at the American Automobile Association have made it their mission to make sure the activity becomes illegal in the remaining states, including Ohio, by 2013.
In September 2009, AAA began a campaign to promote "distraction-free driving." The campaign encourages drivers to eliminate all hand-held cell phone use while driving.
In 2008, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration released a traffic safety study, which concluded that at any given time 812,000, or 11 percent, of moving vehicles are being driven by people using a hand-held cell phone. The study also reported that car accidents caused by these drivers accounted for 5,870 fatalities and 515,000 injuries nationwide.
"This is a new developing liability theory. Texting is a relatively new phenomenon that is growing exponentially," said Dale Perdue, an Ohio Accident and Injury Lawyer of Clark, Perdue & List Co., L.P.A. "I think the research is clear that texting is a major distraction and is a greater impairment than drunk driving. People that text and drive put themselves and others at risk."
Texting and driving is a common problem among drivers, especially drivers under the age of 25. The AAA Foundation states that "one in five U.S. drivers admitted to texting while driving at least once in the last 30 days."
AAA's mission is to promote the effort for statewide legislation that would make it illegal for drivers of all ages to send, write or read a text message or e-mail while their vehicle is in motion. Based on AAA's findings, 80 to 90 percent of Americans support texting bans.
The Ohio General Assembly is considering legislation that would ban texting while driving. Cleveland has passed legislation, Cincinnati is considering the ban and Columbus is beginning to look at the situation.
Fines throughout Ohio range from $100 to $500.
State-wide bans are in effect in states including California, Colorado, Maryland, Minnesota, New York and Virginia. A total of 18 states have addressed texting for drivers in some way, although the laws differ from state to state.
The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute conducted a study of drivers in July 2009 using cameras in both light vehicles and trucks. The research concluded that text messaging "had the longest duration of eyes off-road time (4.6 seconds over a 60 second interval). This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 mph without looking at the roadway."
"We are asking everyone to rethink their driving behavior and take the first step toward becoming distraction-free by trying it for a week and then doing it for life," said Peter Kissinger, AAA president and CEO, in a statement.
For more information, visit AAAFoundation.org.
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