HERE’S a question: What’s bigger and far more important than Facebook? Hint? It’s very low-tech and doesn’t need a smartphone or even an Internet connection. Got it yet? It’s SMS! Text messaging to you and me!

If you use a cellphone, chances are you’re aware what ‘text messaging’ is: Brief messages limited to 160 characters that can be sent or received on all modern mobile phones. Texting, also known as SMS (for short message service), is on the rise, up from 9.8 billion messages a month in December 2005 to over 15 billion not so long ago. If you needed more proof that texting is on the rise, here’s a stat for you: The average teenager sends more than 3,000 texts per month. And, there’s more! Teen females send an incredible amount more than teen males.Undoubtedly, more than a few of those messages are being sent by people driving cars. Is texting while driving a dangerous idea?
Having been rear-ended, not once, but twice in the same month, by teens that were texting and driving, I have a renewed interest in, and alarm about, the behaviour. Never mind the inconvenience of having the car in the shop for a week at a time. Never mind the expense. Never mind the time wasted on the road, waiting to get bus that has no loud music.
We got off easy. The teens in question only got scared; not hurt. Bumpers can be fixed. But we and the teens may not all be so lucky next time. Sadly, there probably will be a next time, unless texting and driving is made illegal in this country, and the Law is rigidly enforced. Texting while driving impairs the driver’s abilities.
So, why, oh why, do teens and young adults persist in texting while barrelling down the road at 50 miles an hour (or more), despite warnings, admonitions, and threats by parents and other concerned adults? Why don’t those “X the Text” public service announcements make an impression? What’s so compelling about the latest texting habit of young driver’s connection that it is worth risking a wreck?
I find teens are often generally good kids. But even good kids can behave insensitivelyand badly when it comes to texting while driving. Reasons are usually some combination of the following:
Denial: Teens are great at denial; they think they are invincible. They have a puffed-up sense of their own importance, competence, and invincibility. Adolescence is a time of increasing independence, and an increasing belief that grownups and their opinions – even their opinions about safety – aren’t relevant.
Underdeveloped impulse control: You’ve probably heard about it: The frontal lobe, the part of the brain that governs judgment and decision-making, doesn’t fully develop until the late teens and early 20s. That’s why teens are particularly likely to do crazy, risky things. They don’t stop to think, because the part of their brain that puts on the brakes isn’t reliable. Our teens don’t like it, but they need us to provide the brakes, until theirs are fully operational.
The feeling of being a multi-tasking master: Our kids are growing up in a multi-tracked, multi-tasking world. They are often listening to music, texting their friends, and doing their homework while watching TV… All at the same time! They have an inflated idea of their competence at keeping track of everything at once. Trouble is: Every task takes on equal importance.This is fine when they’re watching a rerun of “South Park” while texting friends; but it’s not at all fine when texts are as important, or even more important, than what’s going on with the traffic. The moment a text comes in, the urge to read it is as strong as the need to keep their eyes on the road. This is an accident waiting to happen!
Risk-taking high: Taking risks is an adrenalin rush. Taking risks and escaping by a hair’s breadth makes the blood run, and impresses friends. Teens can get enamoured with risky business, because squeaking by feels great! (It’s the same reason people ride roller coasters; even when they’re scared to death!)Teens go skiing down trails that are beyond their skill level. They ride bikes pell-mell down rocky hills, with no bike helmet. They are suckers for a dare. Unfortunately, they also sometimes like the high of speeding down the highway at ‘80’, or playing chicken. Remember that impulse control issue? That, plus the surge of adrenalin that comes from being scared, is a recipe for stupid behaviour.
What’s a parent to do?
First and most important, parents need to model good driving behaviour. If your (you the parents) cell phone rings, ignore it or pull over. There are few calls that are so important that they can’t be responded to a few minutes later.
If you need to make a call, pull over, or ask that teen who is sitting next to you to make the call for you. A picture really is worth millions of words. Show your kids that your mind, eyes, and hands need to be on the wheel; not on the phone. You’ll have no credibility at all with the kids if you demand they treat their phones differently than you do.
Parents need to talk to their kids. Teachers and young professionals need to talk to them often. We need to be willing to risk teen anger, and take away their phones if they can’t just get it that texting while driving is driving blind. They’ll have lots of reasons why it’s okay: “It only takes a second.” “It’s no different than talking to someone else in the car.” “Hey. I’m great at multi-tasking.” “It’s the other guy who’s going to cause an accident; not me.” And then there’s the age-old, “Everyone else is doing it.” But, are you everyone?
The answers to that list are: “A second is all it takes to get in a wreck.” “Talking doesn’t take your eyes off the road, texting does.” “Multi-tasking skills are irrelevant when you’re driving a two-ton automobile at 60 miles an hour.” “It’s especially important to be alert when there are ‘other guys’ who aren’t paying attention.” “Everyone else doesn’t concern me. You do.”
Teens and young adults may not have good judgment or impulse control, but we (adults) do. If they can’t show they are able to exercise self-control, they need parents to be clear that they’ll provide it. There is no rule that our kids are entitled to drive our cars. If they need the car to get to a job or to school or to a game, it will be even more impressive if they have to do without it for a week or so if they break the rules. Make it clear that one infraction, just one piece of evidence that they couldn’t resist the call of the cell phone, will mean the loss of both for a good long time. Then stick to it. Your teen’s life may depend on it.
An analysis in  2011 survey done by a reputable institution shows 46% of drivers at age 17 admitted they texted while driving, a number that rose to 52% for drivers over 18.
Texting while driving is just becoming sort of epidemic and it might be a higher cause of deaths than even drinking while driving. The danger from teen texting has led to more proposals for car-based software that can disable texting. I would surely agree to develop some kind of software of that nature. Texting while driving is surely “driving blind’ falling into it might get you hurt or resulting in losing your life, don’t become a statistic. Be smart! Drive smart and arrive alive!