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A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash or near crash.
But not everyone is against the practice.
Nick Rinaldo, 21, of Green opposes the ban and says he texts and drives.
“Of course I do,” he said. “ I don’t know a lot of people who don’t. I don’t do it constantly, but I glance at my phone.”
His parents used to tell him not to answer his cellphone while he was driving, never mind texting. “But I’m 21 now, so you know.”
It’s not a distraction, he said. “I text while I drive, but I pay attention enough to be safe.”
STUDIES SAY NO
VTTI studies disagree. They found that taking one’s eyes off the road for more than two seconds doubles the risk of a crash.
For every six seconds of driving time, a driver who is texting spends an average of 4.6 seconds looking at the device — long enough for a vehicle going 55 miles per hour to drive the length of a football field, studies revealed.
State Rep. Christina Hagan, R-Marlboro Township, said those figures underscore the need for the legislation. “A car at 50 or 60 miles per hour is kind of a missile,” she said. The bill doesn’t prohibit talking on a cellphone or using it for navigation or using other navigational devices while driving, she said.
The state House of Representatives approved the ban, House Bill 99, by an 88-10 vote last month and sent it on to the Senate for committee review before it goes up for a vote.
If the bill is passed, Ohio will join 33 states and the District of Columbia in banning the practice of typing and/or reading messages while driving.
“I’ll be supporting the bill” if it comes up for a vote, said state Sen. Scott Oelslager, R-North Canton.
“All of us have seen people swerving on the highway,” he said. “Some of the statistics I’ve seen say 24 percent of all drivers text, and more than half of them are under 24.”
The bill would make texting a primary offense, meaning officers could stop someone if they witness texting. It would be a minor misdemeanor, with a fine of up to $150, Oelslager said.
The Senate is in recess until September, and Oelslager couldn’t predict how fast the bill might move through committee to the floor for a vote, if at all.
“There have been bills in the past that have been held up for whatever reason,” he said.
NO PROBLEM
Rinaldo said it doesn’t bother him when he rides with a driver who is texting.
“I trust the people I drive with most of the time,” he said. “It just depends on who’s driving.”
He thinks the potential legal ban is baloney and will be ineffective.
“People should be able to do what they want. Just because people pull you over and give you a ticket, it’s not going to stop you. I think it’s more of a habit now.”
Elliott Blair, 20, of Green said he sometimes texts behind the wheel.
“I do occasionally. It’s usually at a red light,” he said. “I stopped my mom from texting yesterday.”
He doesn’t believe the statistics about texting.
“I think there’s a misconception that younger people are always the ones who are texting. I’ve almost been driven off the road by middle-aged people who were texting — or in their 30s.”
BIG PROBLEM
He said riding with someone who is texting is unnerving. “It makes me a little on edge,” he said. “It’s like I said about my mom. She was paying more attention to her texting than her driving.”
Blair has reservations about the ban.
“I use my GPS. I could (press a cellphone button) and pass a police officer, and he could assume I’m texting.”
The American Automobile Association has lobbied in support of the bill. AAA’s surveys show 80 percent of Americans support banning texting while driving, and 92 percent of Americans said they consider it unacceptable behavior to text or email while driving.
AAA said in a statement that sending or reading a text message takes drivers’ focus off the task of driving, and at least one of their hands is off the wheel, endangering themselves and others.
Lt. Anne Ralston of the Ohio State Highway Patrol’s public affairs office echoed that.
“Texting is another form of distraction. Driving is a complex task that takes” mental and physical skills that are hindered by texting, she said.
Akron attorney Ed Parms, 65, agrees. “I’m totally opposed to it because I think it’s dangerous. I’ve seen the results of some of those accidents in court.
“I haven’t learned to text while I’m driving, and I have no desire to learn because of the danger aspect.”
Parms favors the legal ban. He has two grown daughters who live out of state. Both are mothers to his grandchildren.
“I’ve stressed to them the danger of doing it,” he said. “It appears this is one of the few things where they are following my advice.”
