Originally Posted by
qclabrat
sensitive topic, but a passionate one for me, so will weigh in for a second
Texting and driving has contributed to more deaths annually than drunk driving
in NJ fines for texting: 1st offense- $300, 2nd $500, 3rd $800 & potential suspended license
in NJ fines for DWI: 1st offense- $300 & up 1 yr suspended license & up to 30 days in prison, 2nd $500 & up to 2 yrs suspended license & up to 90 days in prison, 3rd $1000 & up to 10 yrs suspended license & up to 180 days in prison
Obviously fines are not a good deterrent to texting, but adding in license suspension and potential jail time will sober many
Texting and driving being culturally acceptable really bothers me and statistics clearly show it is at least as dangerous when compared to DWI
Getting info/data at an instant is as addictive as drugs and alcohol to some and until penalties are more severe, many will take the risk to answer a quick text and browse while also increasing the risk to injure others
To be honest, I've checked my phone before but nowadays I pull over, even in traffic if I really need to check my messages
At one time I was a cell phone Alpha Tester, (when working for a particular company) and was encouraged to talk long, text and drive... I have long since given up those habits.
I never ran into anybody while doing my testing, but I also tended to keep the conversations lite... just using air time to see what cumulative failures might occur. (it was somewhat funny having a new cell phone number about every two weeks... relatives never knew it was me calling...)