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TEXTING WHILE DRIVING IN GEORGIA–A NO-TEXTING SOLUTION FOR ATLANTA FAMILIES

8/27/2015

3 Comments

 
Everyone knows that teenagers are glued to their cell phones 24-7. For most of us these days, when that tell-tale text alert beeps it’s hard to avoid looking at our phones, even when we’re driving and know we can’t. For teenagers, the temptation to text and drive seems even more irresistible.

Unfortunately, not only is texting while driving extremely dangerous, but it can also have serious legal consequences. Here are the main things to keep in mind about teenage texting and driving:

Texting and Driving is Undeniably Dangerous

Distracted driving is dangerous driving, point blank. Having talkative passengers in the car, playing loud music, and receiving or making phone calls can all create dangerous distractions that make it hard to focus on safe driving.

Texting is now considered the most dangerous distraction of all, as reading and sending texts requires the use of cognitive, visual, and manual skills all at the same time. If you’re using these skills to read or send a text, you’re not using them to pay attention to where you’re going or to other vehicles, automatically making you a dangerous driver.

In fact, recent statistics show that texting while driving now causes 25 percent of all motor vehicle accidents and is six times more dangerous than drinking and driving.

Teens are Especially at Risk

Texting and driving is a growing danger for everyone, but especially teenagers. This is partly because texting is such a big part of teen culture, and partly because teens sometimes have a harder time with impulse control. This is compounded by teens’ lack of driving experience. It’s also important to remember that unlike older adults, many teenagers have been texting for basically their entire lives, making it harder for them to shut off the habit while driving.  

Parents and Teens Can Take Safety Precautions

While this may all sound a little depressing, the good news is that there are specific things teens and parents can do to prevent texting and driving. Here are a few ideas:
  • Use technology in your favor: While technology may be part of the problem when it comes to texting and driving, it can also help make your teenager safer. Have your teen download a driving safety app on their smartphone. These apps range from those that allow hands-free phone use to those that allow parents to completely monitor their teen’s driving habits. You and your teenager will know which level of app is necessary, based on how well you already trust them to drive safely and on their previous driving behavior. One especially helpful type of app allows cell phones to be set to a distraction-free “driving mode” that forwards calls to voicemail and mutes texts. Once your teen is safely parked, they can disable the app and receive and respond to their messages.
  • Foster open communication. If your teen feels like they’re going to be in trouble every time they’re honest with you, they may hide their true feelings about texting and driving. Working to form a relationship where your teen can tell you if they’ve made a mistake, or are feeling peer-pressured to text and drive, can go a long way toward helping to keep them safe.
  • Show them the reality of texting and driving: Sometimes seeing names and faces of those who’ve been affected by texting and driving can really drive home just how dangerous it is. The Faces of Distracted Driving is a powerful site dedicated to just that.
And Here’s Georgia Law on Teen Texting and Driving

In Georgia, if you are under 18, you are not permitted to use a cell phone at all while operating a motor vehicle. For adults, you can use your phone while driving, however you cannot write, send or read text data. Either violation results in a hefty fine and one negative point on your driving record (plus whatever insurance consequences).

Ideally a serious conversation with your newly-driving teen about the potential serious consequences, both in terms of legal problems and potential life or death results, will assure text free driving by your son or daughter.

Should your teen have a texting while driving mishap that leads to an accident and/or injury, it’s best to contact an experienced Atlanta juvenile lawyer immediately to learn and preserve your child’s (and your own) rights.
 
3 Comments
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Cass
12/3/2015 01:06:26 pm


Imagine crossing the road of the campus you thought was safe, to tires squealing nearly hitting you. As you see your life flash before your eyes, both the driver and yourself angrily scream at each other to be more careful. As a college student, I am always hurrying across the roads, not looking both ways when I go to class. When I observed, cars are flying down East Avenue and it was almost fatal to a student. Most students are on their cell phones and not paying attention in both cars and walking. With over 10,000 students on campus, there is a student crossing the road about every three to five seconds. Texting and driving needs to be a bigger focus on our campus, along with the speed of the drivers through campus, so no injuries are prone to happen.
The University of LaCrosse campus is a residential campus so many residents are going through it to get from one side of town to the other, to cut off a couple minutes of their arrival time to their destination. One of my close friends lives here in LaCrosse and when I asked her if she knew if people in town went through the campus, she said that she has heard of a lot of people that have. This causes more traffic and accidents inclined to happen. According to Alison Burdo of NBC Philadelphia, at Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a student was riding her bike as she got struck by a driver that was going too fast and just left her there. The young adult was critically injured and was not able to finish her lacrosse season. At the University of LaCrosse, there are no speed limit signs or caution signs. Someday, this could happen to a student here on campus because of the many drivers that go through here to make it an easier drive. Although, driving through campus can cause it to be a hassle between drivers and students, it does make it a quicker way to get across campus. There are many stoplights around town and if a driver is in a hurry they try to find the quickest way to get around that; we all have done it. I understand that it is simpler, but as a student who crosses the roads every day, I want to be safe knowing that I can cross without a lot of traffic to worry about.
Not only is the speeding an issue, many drivers are on their cell phone causing an even bigger problem. As a driver, I have seen many people on their cellphones. Students crossing the road, without looking, and the drivers not paying attention, can lead to a disaster. Many people believe they are skilled at texting and driving, bu one second of looking down can kill someone. As stated in ENDD, a website that has created a program to stop a distracted driver, a college student, named Liz Marks, was texting and driving and crashed into another car. Liz was so critically injured that she became blind, lost her sense of smell, and can’t fall asleep without medication. All of this because of one text message. Now I know that crashing on campus won’t, hopefully, be to that extent, but something like that could happen to a driver or a student walking because of one reading a text. Lizs’ story should make everyone think twice about reading a text message while driving. Also, so many students that are crossing the road are also looking down at their phones or listening to music. When I observed at one of the bus stops on East Avenue N and La Crosse Street, there was one time where a car had to slam on its breaks because neither the student nor the car saw each other. According to Allie Bidwell, an education reporter for the U.S. News and World Report, about 80% of college students texts while they drive. I understand it is hard to enforce the rules and catch everybody because there isn’t somebody out there watching every driver, but there should be stricter rules and consequences before there’s a disastrous crash.
Before we see one of our friends or peers from LaCrosse on the news because of a campus crash, spread awareness. Stop the texting and driving before you injure yourself or someone else. Residents around the town should leave a little earlier so they don’t have to find a short cut through campus. Driving through campus should be restricted to only the people that go to and work at the campus. Ultimately, organizations should bring more awareness to texting and driving. With the spread of awareness throughout campus, this problem can get noticed. With the help of putting speed limit signs up around campus, can reduce the squealing and gasps of drivers and students. Would you want to get a phone call saying your best friend has been hurt because of your text message? Don’t let it be you.

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