Texting and driving has become a very serious issue that has drawn national media attention. Given the way society works in 2018, many people are accustomed to doing virtually everything on their phone. That means answering emails, communicating via social media, and even utilizing a GPS on the phone. Thus, there are many people who are reluctant to stop using their phone while driving. The key issue here is the danger of it all and the threat that it poses. Anytime you take your eyes off the road, you put everyone at risk.
Even if it is just for a second, there is the possibility of the cell phone triggering a hazardous crash. Truthfully, given how often people text and drive and given the likelihood of people continuing to do this, there is only one way to address the problem. That means making a hefty fine and possible jail time the result. This would help ensure that people don’t continue to text and drive at the pace they do.
While law enforcement cannot technically pull someone over for texting and driving, there is a process that follows if you are caught in the act. The first offense is a ticket which costs $30, according to Orlando Weekly. The second offense is a ticket costing $60, as the article explains.
The reason a lot of police have trepidation about pulling over people and checking to see if they are texting is because they need a warrant to search through the phone, which is essentially personal property. Still, there is a chance the person has left their phone on the conversation and therefore the police should be able to indicate that. They should have the valid authorization to see if they are in the midst of a conversation on their phone, without snooping through the conversation or looking through the details. It is a sensitive issue as many people see it as an invasion of privacy.
Realistically, you have to be more worried about saving someone’s life than violating someone’s personal rights or leaving them feeling offended. Given the fact that the Florida Highway Patrol cited over 1,400 people for texting and driving, the problem is clearly ongoing. If stern action is not taken, people are going to continue to text and drive without any fear or hesitation.
The argument one can make is that there is not enough incentive to make this a major offense. Florida is very strict, stricter in most states in fact, with driving. Driving on a suspended license has the potential to result in 90 days of jail time. Few other states have this type of penalty and enforce these type of hard rules.
Many states simply just add up points on your license even if it is suspended. If Florida can have these kind of rules applied here, they have to take the same action and up the ante when it comes to texting and driving. The fact that it puts one’s life at risk should be enough to force the law to increase in importance. It seems counterproductive to make someone pay a hard price for driving on a suspended license (a driver could be driving with a suspended license without knowledge, as they may not have been informed by the DMV) yet they only have to fork over a meager $30 for texting while driving.
A suspended license can be the result of a few tickets here and there, some of which have added up over the years. Texting and driving forces the driver to take their eyes off the road, blurring their vision of what’s in front of them. Even a person crossing the road is at risk when the driver is texting. This creates a real distraction which causes the driver to take their eyes off of the road. It needs to be addressed for what it is. It is an illegal maneuver, one which people commit everyday, given the society in which we live in 2018. Putting a scare into people and making the fine more expensive while also making jail time one of the results would do a great deal in making people take this more seriously.
There are both pros and cons to this argument. The pros are that there would be less of an issue regarding texting and driving. As a result, the number of accidents would go down significantly. In addition to this, there wouldn’t be as many fatalities. While there is no way to gauge how many people instigate accidents because of their texting, it is no secret the act of texting and driving contributes to the astronomical number of accidents each year.
Another pro is that the road will be a safer place, one which is filled with less stress. Both highways and regular roads will decrease as far as near-accidents and tension goes. This would be instrumental in soothing the rage or anxiety of some drivers. Realistically, everyone benefits from one less risk of texting and driving. Another possibility for lessening the problem would be to have those who have committed the act of texting and driving take a class.
Similar to the classes those who receive a DUI are mandated to take, these classes would provide powerful knowledge and insight on how to prevent the act from re-occurring. This would be a best possible scenario to help prevent repeat offenders from doing it again. Many people who receive a DUI or a DWI do not have choice, they have to take these classes. It is how they accept the penalties for what they did. By making texting and driving a serious offense on that level, it could be just as powerful in disciplining people.
The cons of harshening the sentence for texting and driving is that it might not be as easy as one would envision. There would surely be a process and there would surely be an issue with the invasion of privacy concept of it all. People who text and drive are hard to be found guilty of it, which makes hiring a lawyer and getting legal representation to help the ticket or possible jail time go away very quickly. This would ultimately defeat the purpose of it all.
Overall, there are a variety of ways of looking at this particular issue. On one hand, it seems there are multiple ways to fight the issue and prevent people from texting while driving. When you think about all of the chaos and turmoil that is caused by texting and driving, it is natural to want to end the problem. The only really logical way of doing that is to ramp up the penalties and sanctions for it all, making them face a much deeper issue for their actions. This would ultimately allow people to second guess before choosing to text while drive. It could help build good habits in people and perhaps cause them to turn their phones off while they are on the road.
Many people are careless about texting and driving because there is no real threat in it. A measly $30 or even a $60 dollar ticket for the second offense shouldn’t really put a scare into people, especially if they can afford a car and insurance and a cell phone bill. So, by implementing a rule that would put stiffer fines and harsher penalties on people who violate the law with this dangerous action, it would be a tremendous step in helping lessen the problem.
