Text Offenders: Law Not Calling Drivers to Get Off Phones

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Story Published: Nov 19, 2009 at 7:11 PM PDT

By Peter Bukowski

CENTRAL WASHINGTON -- The message is spreading faster than a text, "Don't text and drive"

"I won't text and drive," says high school student AJ SMith, " I think it's worse than drunk driving cuz sometimes I'm seeing cars swerving back and forth. I have to pass them and it's some little girl looking down at her phone still trying to text and drive."

But Smith's classmate Ravyn Jones doesn't have the same perspective. "I can't wait, so I just read them while I drive." I ask her if she knows what she is doing is illegal. "Yes, but I'm sneaky."

"Just don't get caught," adds Ravyn's friend Chantal Avila.

And even though it's against the law, more and more people are driving while texting. State Patrol logged more than twice as many reported cases of drivers on the phone, whether texting or calling. And it's worse in the Tri-cities.

"Folks are traveling from 90 to 100 feet in a second, so any distraction can be a dangerous one," Washington Patrol Sergeant Ed. McAvoy says.

In fact, one study found texting while driving reduces response times more than drinking or drugs. That means you'll have to resist the temptation to drive under the influence.

I talked to Parkside Driving Instructor John Wildschute about how dangerous texting and driving can be.

"The response time is gone because when you look up and see it should have responded already so if you're fortunate and a really good driver, you might be able to get out of the way. You might also just plow right into the object."

And cell phones are in the hands of just about everyone, even behind the wheel. But accidents as a result of phone usage is down. Yakima, Franklin, and Benton County have actually seen a decline in such accidents since the state started tracking such things in 2006.

So whether folks are using their phones less, or just getting better at multitasking, cruising on the digital highway can make driving your car on the highway even more dangerous.

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