In Mr. Navarrete's editorial, he brings up several good points about what the state of Texas should do with the use of handheld devices while driving.
Being that the technology involved with text capable devices has historically not been around very long, naturally things have to work their way through the system. I don't think anyone that remembers life before smartphones thought that texting would take off like it did, but it certainly has become a problem to contend with. As Mr. Navarrete said, it is often compared to being intoxicated with alcohol while driving. Well in Texas, there once was a time where trips from A to B were measured by saying, “oh its about a 6 pack away.” This was the norm as for quite some time in our nations history, drinking and driving was legal. But times change.
Being that federal law trumps state law, especially in the case of interstate vehicles like commercial vehicles, it has been illegal to operate any form of touch screen device while behind the wheel since January 2012. Most would agree that this is a good thing being that CDL drivers are working, and typically are hauling lots of weight. However, an argument could be made that what's good for the goose is good for the gander. This is especially true since the ratio of accidents is greatly on the side of non CDL drivers. Perhaps what is needed is more education on the matter at its infancy, rather than trying to be reactive about the situation and change habits after they’ve been strongly ingrained.
There’s such a fine line to be drawn with the issue of texting while driving. Creating a law that so broadly affects so many people would surely cause lots of turmoil, especially as people begin to cry foul just to get out of a ticket. Everywhere you look, there are statistics on the use of smartphones while driving. Glancing at a phone for even one second takes your concentration away for X amount of seconds total. All this is fine and dandy given optimal conditions and people. Where are the statistics on every time you turn around to check on the baby, or change the radio station or the other million things that are done in the vehicle while driving. I'm certainly not advocating for texting while driving, but unless the human condition can be cured or made illegal, we are going to be stuck with distracted drivers. Technology is here to stay, and the best solution would be as Mr. Navarrete said, to make it illegal across to board. At least it would be one less thing for 16 year old Brittany to be LOLing about.
