A recent New York Times article reported the case of a young British woman killed in a traffic accident. The 22-year-old driver of the car that caused the crash was sentenced to 21 months in a high-security women's prison. This was not a case of DWI rather DWT: driving while texting.
This dangerous behavior is not taken lightly in Britain. According to The Times, texting while driving is considered a serious aggravating factor in "death by dangerous driving," and is typically punishable by four to seven years in prison. New guidelines of the British law place reading and composing text messages while behind the wheel in the same category as driving while intoxicated or high on drugs.
Although driving while texting and driving under the influence are treated as similar offenses under the law, it seems that the former is more socially acceptable than the latter. The Times article notes the reactions of some of the victim's relatives. I was quite surprised to read that a number of the victim's friends and family members sympathized with the driver. A statement from the victim's cousin captures this sentiment: "Until Tory's death I texted while driving, as have most people. I don't think she realized the danger she was causing."
This analysis is quite accurate. According to a recent poll by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 21 percent of drivers admitted to texting while driving. Even more alarming is that half of drivers in the 16- to 24-year-old cohort reported that they have engaged in this behavior. In fact, The Times reported, the victim of the accident herself had been texting behind the wheel earlier the day that the accident occurred.
Recent studies reveal just how dangerous DWT actually is. According to data from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute, text messaging made the risk of a crash or near-crash event 23.2 times as high as it was with non-distracted driving. CBS News reported that a 2007 simulator study by Clemson University showed that "text messaging and using iPods caused drivers to leave their lanes 10 percent more often."
But what is truly frightening is that this risky behavior is not occurring out of ignorance on the part of the offenders. Despite the fact that 21 percent admit to texting while driving, the same Virginia Tech poll reveals that 95 percent believe that this is unacceptable behavior. What is the explanation for this inconsistency?
One need not spend much time to come up with similar examples of irrational behavior. Take a look at the student body at the College. Despite growing up with D.A.R.E. and completing the mandatory AlcoholEdu course before matriculation, the majority of Dartmouth students engage in unsafe drinking behavior on a regular basis. Each year, approximately 5,000 people under the age of 21 die as a result of alcohol consumption, according to statistics from the National Institutes of Health. But upon hearing numbers like this, people tend to think that they will never be part of such statistics.
The same is true for other vices. While well aware of the serious risks of smoking, people continue to light up. Even in light of evidence linking sun exposure to skin cancer, people continue to flock to beaches and tanning salons. Sure, more than one million people are diagnosed with skin cancer annually, but few believe that they will be one of them.
Perhaps this refusal to face reality is an inevitable part of human nature. If people have all of the facts and still choose to engage in risky behavior, it's their prerogative. But texting while driving is different than the examples mentioned above, as it poses a serious risk not only to the actors, but to others as well. As the AAA survey indicates, texting while driving is a much more serious issue among 16- to 24-year-olds than it is among older drivers. Is this a result of youth, or a factor specific to our generation? One explanation is that 16- to 24-year-olds engage in text messaging much more often in general than do older cohorts, so it makes sense for there to be a higher percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who text while they drive. Perhaps this behavior is a result of our age group's compulsion to multi-task. "Generation Me" has also been accused by our elders of having a distorted sense of entitlement. Perhaps we feel that sending a text is so important that it warrants our breaking the law (in 18 states) and putting others at risk.
Whatever the reason, I hope that stricter laws and greater awareness will help solve this problem.
