Driving Under the Influence

I have seen and heard many ads aiming to discourage texting and driving.  They nearly always read some heart touching text from the person who caused the accident, showing how the person was a loving and caring son, daughter, husband, or wife.  On the other hand, when I see ads discouraging drunk driving, it always discusses the victim, who's family no longer has a son, daughter, husband, or wife, because some criminal drunk killed them.  Something is wrong here.

Recent research has shown that driving while talking on a phone, whether holding in hand or using some kind of hands-off device, is almost as impairing as alcohol.  Many states have banned driving while talking on a phone, without a hands-off device, but it turns out, it does not matter.  Driving while distracted is a bad thing, and people who do are endangering their own lives and the lives of others.

In addition to this, recent research has also shown that texting while driving is significantly worse than driving drunk.  A majority of accidents caused by texting drivers have no evidence that the driver even tried to stop.  Even drunks drivers leave tire marks where they tried to stop too late.  Texting drivers typically hit with the full momentum of the vehicle.  Drunk drivers at least manage to dump some of that by breaking, which can significantly reduce the severity of the accident.

The fact is, texting while driving is far worse than driving drunk.  Drunk drivers generally do not have full control of their ability to make choices.  Yes, driving drunk is irresponsible.  Getting drunk in the first place is not very responsible, but if we as a nation are going to allow alcohol to be so easily available, drunk driving is something we are going to have to deal with, because drunk people do not have the mental capability to make well thought out decisions.  Texting, on the other hand, is a totally sober activity.  People who text and drive are not mentally impaired at all.  They are risking the lives of others with full cognitive capacity.  In law, cognitive capacity can be the difference between accidental killing and murder.  People who text and drive are actually being far more irresponsible than people who drink and drive.

So why do we glorify people who died texting and driving, while we demonize people who die driving drunk?  I don't have an answer for this!  Perhaps people are just idiots.  Maybe we feel bad for the person who died texting.  The fact is, though, we should not feel any worse than we do for a person who died driving drunk!  Because you know what?  At least the drunk guy has an excuse.

Drunk drivers are criminals.  They are irresponsible people who endanger their own lives and the lives of others.  People who text and drive are even worse though!  People who text and drive cause worse accidents, and they do it while they are entirely in control of their mind and body.  Making a stupid decision when drunk makes you stupid for drinking.  Making a stupid decision when sober just makes you stupid and irresponsible.

Moms Against Drunk Driving need to add texting while driving to their list.  Instead of treating that poor boy who died driving while he was texting his mom that he loved her, we should be treating him like the irresponsible criminal that he is!  Maybe he loved his mom.  That is great, but it does not excuse endangering the lives of many others just to tell her that, when he could have easily waited or pulled over at the side of the road.  Would we excuse a drunk driver, just because he loves his mom?  Then there is no reason to excuse a boy who was texting while driving.  Texting while driving is stupid and wrong.  Endangering other people's lives so you can send someone an irrelevant message is criminal, and instead of treating people who text and drive like poor, innocent victims, we should treat them like criminals.

Social intolerance is more effective than law at controlling behavior.  Maybe if we treated texting and driving the same way we treat drinking and driving, people would quit doing it (because this  kind of indirect social pressure works far better on sober people than drunks)!