by J. David Bartenfield on 01/30/12
Close your eyes for five seconds and count…
One one thousand
Two one thousand
Three one thousand
Four one thouand
Five one thousand
That is the average amount of time it takes to send, or receive and read a text message. At 55 mph you’ve just traveled the length of a football field.
In North Carolina it’s not only against the law to send a text message while driving but it’s also against the law to read a text message while driving. It’s illegal to check your email or check-in to Facebook, Twitter, Four-Square or Linked-In while operating a motor vehicle.
Although exact statistics are not available, AT&T, the country’s second largest cellphone carrier, estimates 200,000 accidents a year are attributable to texting while driving. These statistics are difficult to obtain because most people involved in car crashes are unwilling to admit that texting while driving caused or contributed to the accident. And unlike car crashes involving alcohol there is no tell-tale odor or measurable intoxication alerting officers.
And in many of these cases the offenders are dead.
So, yes. Words can kill.
Don’t text and drive.