The days of texting and driving might be approaching an end.
The Indiana House Public Policy Committee this week unanimously approved a bill that would make it illegal to send text messages or e-mails while driving. The bill would make such uses of electronic devices while driving a class C infraction with a possible fine of $500.
It might also save lives.
According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 19 states already have outlawed texting and driving. The U.S. Transportation Department announced this week that it had adopted new rules prohibiting truck and bus drivers from sending text messages on hand-held devices while operating commercial vehicles.
All of this should be welcome news to the traveling public.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Commission, using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of 0.08 percent. Driving while using a cell phone reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.
NHTSA says nearly 1 percent of all crashes and 65 percent of near crashes involve some type of distraction. It says nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving distracted or inattentive drivers.
The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety says drivers using hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves, and NHTSA points out that the worst offenders are the youngest and least-experienced drivers: men and women under the age of 20.
The evidence is clear. Texting while driving is dangerous.
Indiana lawmakers and federal transportation officials should be applauded for addressing this important issue.
It’s time to put the brakes on this dangerous practice.
Parents of teenagers would do well to tell them to put their cell phones away when they get behind the wheel of a vehicle. The job of propelling a two-ton vehicle down the road is difficult enough without the distraction of typing letters into a phone.
And if you’re one of the many adults who also have joined the technology craze, please follow the same advice.
No message is so important it can’t wait a few minutes until your vehicle is safely stopped.
Opinion
Put brakes on texting, driving
- Opinion
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Our view: Centers are less expensive to operate and more convenient for the average voter.
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White shouldn’t return to office
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Our view: Charlie White’s ouster from office should be permanent.
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Editorial - Feb. 8, 2012: Grand success for Indianapolis
The issue: The Super Bowl.
Our view: Indianapolis left a great impression on thousands of visitors.
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Letters to the Editor: Feb. 8, 2012
As Hoosiers celebrate the conclusion of a truly remarkable Super Bowl experience, there is even more good news that should fill us with pride. More Indiana students are graduating from high school than ever before.
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The Indiana Senate last week approved a bill that would allow public schools to teach creationism, as long as they include theories from multiple religions.
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If you say so
In an opinion piece we published Thursday, state Rep. Mike Karickhoff announced why he voted against “right-to-work” legislation. His reason: The community told him to.
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Cheers and jeers - Saturday, Feb. 4, 2012
Karickhoff acted ‘cowardly’
The Rev. Robin Wentworth Mayer and Horst G. Mayer of Kokomo send the Jeer for state Rep. Mike Karickhoff’s silence during the “right-to-work” debate:
“Mr. Karickhoff, for someone who’s new to office, you’ve certainly learned the art of talking out of both sides of your mouth.
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Let’s drug test our lawmakers
Perhaps it’s appropriate that a measure passed by the Indiana House this week would ask not only welfare recipients but Indiana lawmakers to consent to a drug test.
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Editorial - Feb. 2, 2012: Peru delivers a message
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Our view: Aggressive enforcement can help a city’s finances, but the benefits go beyond dollars and cents.
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Karickhoff: Reason behind my ‘right-to-work’ vote
There is no doubt the “right-to-work” debate has brought mixed emotions, not only to our state but District 30 as well. There were only a handful of House Republicans who did not vote in support of this legislation. Let me explain why I felt it was necessary for me to vote in opposition to right to work.
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