text and drive safety

Murfreesboro Courier delivery drivers in the Nashville, VA area see a lot of scary things on the road because they spend their work hours driving all over the city. Regardless of whether their deliveries are same day or scheduled, one thing that stays the same.

They experience the unwelcome sight of another driver trying to do text on their phone while they are behind the wheel. Texting while driving is dangerous behavior. No one should ever text and drive.

While we could make a long, long list of reasons not to text and drive, it’s easier to remember these three general categories:

  1. Texting while driving is eventually going to cost more than you want to pay.
  2. Texting while driving makes you look bad.
  3. Texting while driving is unnecessary.

Texting while driving is illegal

Texting while driving is illegal in Tennessee and most other states. Texting while driving is illegal for a good reason. It is dangerous. The Tennessee State Crime Commission (VSCC) published an in-depth report on texting and driving that found that texting while driving could be a significant cause of accidents.

It Costs More Than You Want To Pay

Texting and driving make you 23% more likely to cause an accident because it delays your reaction time as if you were DUI. There are higher costs to that decision than money, but money is an excellent place to start.

  • Most places have fines for drivers who text while on the road.
  • Most insurance companies raise your rates if you are caught texting and driving.
  • Causing an accident because a text was more important than driving can cost you your vehicle.
  • Many lives are permanently changed and lost because a driver was texting. Do you want to live with the fact you cost someone else their life?
  • Just because you avoided paying the cost in the past doesn’t mean you won’t pay in the future. All you are doing is reinforcing a habit you will regret later and letting your phone control you now.

It Makes You Look Bad

While the costs listed above should be enough, texting and driving lead to some real loss of image.

  • Your passengers see that you don’t care if they are hurt or killed.
  • Pedestrians get nervous because you may not see them cross in front of you at the stop sign.
  • Other drivers see you weaving in your lane as you try to read your phone and text and it looks like you are DUI. You are, in fact, DUI — Driving Under the Influence of your phone.
  • Other drivers are distracted because you undoubtedly could cause accidents, and they have to keep one eye on the road and one eye on you.
  • Autocorrect is NOT your friend when you aren’t able to look at what you wrote. Do you really need to look like you meant what it said?

It Isn’t Necessary

There is never a time that texting and driving is a good idea because you risk so much to do it. You have alternatives.

  • If you have a passenger, they can usually read your texts to you and answer for you if you can’t pull over and it is critical to communicate.
  • Most of the time you can pull off to the shoulder and stop. Then look at your phone in safety.
  • Many areas will have designated “text stops” where you can safely text.
  • There are ways to set up an auto-reply that informs the caller/texter you are driving. See what your phone needs so you can do this and check your messages once you get to your destination.
  • Technology gives us hands-free communication. Depending on your phone and car, you can set up voice-recognition texting (talk-to-text), bluetooth, etc. You might look like you are talking to yourself behind the wheel, but nobody cares if your hands are on the wheel and you are driving safely.

When all the facts are put together, they add up to one thing: don’t text while you are driving. It isn’t necessary, it makes you look bad, and it often costs more than you are willing to pay. You can find more reasons here.