Are Texting Laws Enough to Stop Distracted Drivers?

Distracted driving has become the cause of 1 in 4 car accidents in the United States. Many states including California, Connecticut, New York and Washington have banned all cellphone use, but despite these laws, drivers can’t seem to prevent distractions.
In fact, Alaska has one of the harshest fines for texting and driving. Drivers can face a fine of $10,000 and up to one year in jail. If a texting and driving accident results in a death, you could face 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The question now becomes if these laws are having an impact on the amount of car accidents and deaths caused by distracted drivers.
According to the CDC, drivers under the age of 20 have the highest chance of being involved in distracted driving accidents, despite finding that more adults admit to texting and driving than teens. One study showed that primary texting bans cut teen traffic deaths by 11%. They found that these laws have a more dramatic effect because they don’t require officers to have another reason for the traffic stop.
These primary enforcement laws also proved to be more effective than other cellphone laws which force officers to have another reason to stop the driver after they’ve been caught texting. More importantly, They were also associated with a 3% reduction in traffic deaths among all age groups. This prevented 19 deaths per year in all states with primary texting bans.
It’s important to note that not all cellphone laws are created equal and we now know that not all of them have the same result. Secondary texting-and-driving laws were deemed useless because it forces officers to have two reasons to pull you over, even if you are obviously sending a text. Take Florida for example, in two years, secondary enforcement laws resulted in just 2,061 tickets statewide. Despite secondary laws not seeming to work, banning all handheld devices did work. These laws reduced traffic deaths among adults ages 22 to 64.
While texting is the second-leading cause of deaths due to distraction-related accidents, you might be surprised to know that day dreaming or “being lost in thought” is the biggest cause of distracted driving deaths. Experts say there is an easy answer for this and it’s complacency. They say drivers have become so comfortable on the road, they forget how dangerous it can be, causing them to feel confident enough to pull out their phone and send a quick text.
Others factors come in to play when it comes to distraction, including rushing, tiredness, and frustration. Running late for work, sitting in traffic and an early morning commute can easily distract a driver, increasing the risk of crashing.
The good thing about these findings is that drivers can easily avoid most of these distractions. We can see that some laws are making a difference, but to really make a change each drivers has to put an effort to avoid getting distracted and setting a good example for younger drivers.
Take a few seconds before hitting the road, to put all your necessary objects near you and try to give yourself plenty of time to get to your destination. Distracted driving is preventable and you can start by setting a good example for young drivers. For more tips to prevent distractions on the road and a full list of texting and driving laws state by state check out this article.
