U hav got 2 b kidding me! A survey of 1,000 drivers' texting habits by the legal eagles at FindLaw.com finds the incidence of texting while driving (maybe that should be driving while texting) increases as age decreases. No big surprise there, but what's stunning is 48 percent of 18- to 24-year-olds admit to speeding through traffic while letting friends know theyre runN L8.
What we find more interesting -- especially those of us who are occasionally guilty of the aforementioned bad habit -- is just how much legal trouble you can get into if you cause an accident while messaging behind the wheel.
"The potential legal implications of texting while driving go far beyond the possibility of a mere traffic violation," says FindLaw.com attorney Stephanie Rahlfs, presumably from the safety of her own desk. Since every text message is time-stamped and usually saved on the handset, police have no problem proving a driver was texting at the time of an accident.
And that can result in a suspended license and prob8n. OMG.
Even if you're in one of four states that ban texting while driving (or one of the 33 trying to), drivers who were distracted by phone messaging when they plowed into the back of the car in front of them can be nailed for negligent or reckless conduct, and that can be enough to get your license pulled.
The demographic breakdown of the survey isn't particularly surprising, considering it mirrors the adoption of texting in general. A study last year by the Automobile Association of America found 46 percent of kids aged 16 and 17 text behind the wheel. Combine those stats with the invincibility complex every kid has and it's a wonder more states haven't taken action. Luckily, texting while driving in the AARP crowd is nearly nonexistent: We'd be terrified to get a text from grandma asking, "whch 1 iz D br8k?"
FindLaw's stats probably understate the scope of the problem because any survey that tracks socially undesirable behavior will suffer from some bias. We can't imagine a teenager answering a telephone survey with his mom in the next room is going to say, "Yeah, I text all the time when I'm driving -- especially when I've got a Bud Light in the cup holder and I'm watching a DVD on my hacked AVIC-N3." Let's just hope that Barack Obama isn't behind the wheel when he texts supporters the name of his running m8.
*Photo by flickr user Tim Caynes. SMS translations by transl8tit.com. *
