With all of today’s new technology, text messaging while driving has become more trendy and dangerous than ever before.

Now with touch-screen Blackberrys, iPhones and phones with built-in MP3 players, many find it hard not to get excited over it. Though these new gadgets can be fun, they can be a serious threat to safe driving.         Text messaging demands a high level of attention which when behind the wheel should be directed only towards driving. Doing it while driving causes the driver to take their eyes off the road, making them less conscious of cars around them and more likely to get into an accident. Not only does it make the driver lose focus, but it even requires them to remove one or both hands from the wheel. However, as text messaging while driving becomes a larger danger everyday, teenagers continue to do it.
“Cell phones are convenient, but text messaging [requires] a high level of attention,” Police Officer Matt Jacobson said.
Jacobson agrees that text messaging in the car is a distraction. Even though phones are often perceived as a convenience, they can be as equally dangerous as drinking and driving. Jacobson estimates that approximately 80 percent of teens text while driving. According to parentingteens.suite101.com, nearly 50 percent of teenagers will openly admit to text messaging while driving. Jacobson thinks there should be a law prohibiting it in Missouri, but does not think teenagers would stop texting while driving entirely.
“Teenagers normally do not consider the consequences,” Jacobson said.
Parents seem to share the same views as Jacobson. Most teenagers think parents overreact about texting, while in reality many just worry about today’s young drivers, and their lack of experience behind the wheel.
“It’s not that they’re careless, it’s that they’re inexperienced,” local mother Beverly Fogliani said.
Besides law enforcement, parents also agree a law prohibiting texting while driving should be passed in Missouri. Many think it would cause less accidents.
“I feel very strongly about having a law enforcing that you aren’t allowed to text and drive,” Fogliani said. “It’s very dangerous.”
Students, on the other hand, think texting while driving is not as big of a deal. Sophomore Cat Pherigo admitted to text messaging while driving. Pherigo thinks if its possible to eat as you drive and still pay attention, you can text because that isn’t even as messy or distracting. Many teens would agree it is not a big deal and that adults overreact.
“I can keep one hand on the wheel and both eyes on the road and still text message because I know where all of the keys are on my phone, so really it is no more dangerous than eating while driving,” Pherigo said. “Actually that’s probably more dangerous because it is messy.”
However, not all teens share this sentiment. Sophomore Chip Dozier claims he does not text while driving, and thinks it is at the top of the list of most dangerous driving distractions.
“I kind of think it should be banned because there are too many other people out there on the road not paying attention,” Dozier said. “And that’s kind of dangerous.”