A Deadly Addiction or: How I Learned to Stop Texting & Driving and Learned to Be Safe (in Vermont)

Are there problems enforcing this no texting-while-driving policy? What 'drives' people to do it?

On June 1st, 2010, the Governor of Vermont, Jim Douglas, signed an anti-text bill that makes it illegal to text and drive at the same time. Cell phones are also banned for novice drivers under the age of 18.


Texting is the brief message that a person can type and send with there cellular phone. It is a new form of interacting with other people, changing the way we talk with one another. Texting on cell phones have expanded in popularity in the past years. Texting became available on cellular phones at the beginning of this new century and has steadily increased in usage. 73% of all cell phone users (2.4 billion out of 3.3 billion people) have phone which make use of this short messaging service.

Also rising in popularity is texting while driving. Based on statistics, a driver who is texting is eight times more  likely to cause a crash. This is probably due to the fact that while you are texting, one or both hands are off the wheel of the car and you are not focused on what is ahead of you. Why do people do it. Maybe it is that they feel that they can be better drivers when they can do something else while driving. Maybe it is just to multitask? Or is it ignorance?

Driving and texting has been the cause of numerous crashes, such as the 2008 Chatsworth train collision, in which 25 people lost there lives because the conductor was texting. Texting and driving mostly affects younger drivers, who text more often than older, more experienced drivers.

In Vermont, police can now stop you if you are suspected of texting and driving. For the first offense, you are fined $100 and given a surcharge with 15%. For subsequent offenses, the fine is $250. Both times, your license is recalled for 30 days. Since the bill was passed to earlier this year in April, only 64 drivers have been fined. Are the police cracking down hard enough?

The state of Vermont only says that it is illegal to send a text behind the wheel, so it is a little harder to track. “Evidently a fine doesn’t work because a fine can be paid but you got to get their notice. And I think to get their attention you’re going to have to probably suspend their license. And I’m not afraid to take that up for consideration,” said Senator Dick Mazza, head of the Senate Transportation Committee.

There are people out there who do like to text. They always do it. It's like an addiction. When it is done behind the wheel, it could be deadly. You are driving a 5000 pound weapon. Put the cell phone down and drive. You can save the life of yourself, your passengers, and other people who may have been in your path.

-FIN