Green Level Drivers Ed is something that you or your friends have probably taken with excitement for the near possibility of being on the road! But, driving comes with a lot of responsibility, and that includes refraining from texting from behind the wheel. In fact, texting and driving is really just as serious and drinking and driving.

As NYTimes describes, there are thousands of car crashes that occur from cell phone use every year. There is an ongoing debate about whether or not texting and driving should be illegal in every state and if it should have the same consequences that drinking and driving has. The majority of Americans, especially teenagers, are aware of the dangers of driving while using a smartphone, but that doesn’t decrease the rates of car accidents that occur yearly from texting and driving alone. This might mean that we need to spread more awareness and have stricter laws if making Americans aware of the issue isn’t enough. 

Another article written by New York Times helps show how through recent years, states have passed more regulations about texting and driving. Although this is true, we haven’t completely gotten there yet and still have a long way to go. Some states have banned texting and driving, but now we have to consider whether penalties should be as strict as those for drinking and driving. As more people are driving, car accident rates are also increasing, so this is a major issue that needs to be addressed quickly. 

1 in 20 drivers use their cell phone while driving which is horribly dangerous! As a student Frankie Craine puts it, “I think potentially it [texting while driving] could be more dangerous (than drunk driving) because if someone gets in a long conversation. Drunk driving, at least you see somewhat. Texting while driving you are looking down the entire time, you don’t know if you’re about to hit an old woman with a carriage.” 

Now that you can see why texting and driving is such a big issue, you can see why stricter laws are needed in order to decrease the frequency of this issue. Drinking and driving have made some major progress throughout the years because of how strict the laws are for it. Texting and driving occur much more often and have the same dangerous consequences, so now we have to consider the fact that texting while driving should be seen and treated the same as drinking and driving is.