Bill to stop teens texting while driving won’t curb distraction

Zac Estrada Rosales
News Editor
New California legislation is attempting to put an end to teens texting. At least while they’re driving.
I can think of more dangerous places for people our age to be text messaging, such as in our math class when our teacher will unceremoniously rip our phones from our hands and place it in the top drawer of his or her desk.
I’m not immune from the bug. I will admit that I’ve sent a few dozen messages while in between lights or stuck behind a slow moving pack of cars led by a driver who is seemingly unaware of traffic signs.
However, there is a new state bill under the title of SB 33 that sets out to make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to be using their cell phone or PDA while driving, and that includes use of these devices with hands-free technology. And initially it makes sense. We’ve been told by our parents and other concerned adults that driving should be our priority when we’re driving. That’s why we’re not supposed to have our friends as passengers in our cars until we’ve been driving for more than a year, right?
But the more I think about this issue, the more I don’t believe it will be effective at keeping teens safer, as well as other drivers for that matter. After all, it’s known that a large number of us are driving our friends around practically the day after we get our licenses. And a number of us are rushing home at odd hours of the night, not only hoping our parents won’t catch us sneaking in but also that the cops won’t pull us over for speeding only to find out we weren’t supposed to be driving at that time of night in the first place. All of these laws are enforced in such a way that it’s only a problem if you get caught.
The ban on cell phones was intended to curb certain drivers who put the act of driving low on their priority list when they’re actually behind the wheel, lower on the list than putting on makeup or turning around to talk to their friends in the back seat, to name just a few of alternate activities. But will it really stop the most criminal offenders from driving into the car in front of them as they try to fix their message using the clumsy keypad on their iPhone? Probably not.
And more troubling is that these are the often same people who drink and spill their coffee while driving. Certainly, drivers our age are more likely to crash as a result of similar actions, but it’s not like you’re going to get pulled over for a liquid spillage.
Potentially problematic for the cops and other drivers is the fact that there’s new technology, namely from Microsoft, that allows your phone to connect to your car and have your text messages read out loud by your car. Amusingly, Microsoft claims the system will also interpret the classic text phrases such as “lol” “omg” and “wtf.” How they’re interpreted wasn’t mentioned.
But how much of this is really important to teenagers? You have to stop and think if any new law will make you safer behind the wheel. Will you become a safer driver by using more technology? Or will you bother to ignore your phone while driving? But the bigger question: will this proposed new law stop you from being a distracted driver? I’m thinking that’s a no on all counts.