Let’s face it: We all know that to drive safely, we need to keep our hands on the wheel and our eyes and mind on the road, focusing on what’s around us—other cars, traffic signals, pedestrians, cyclists, road and weather conditions, and whatever else might be happening. Yet the reality is that many drivers engage in distracting activities: talking on a cell phone, eating, fussing with their radios, and now texting.

We justify our behavior by telling ourselves that we’re good drivers and can handle these tasks safely, or “we’re only doing it this one time.” But data from traffic crashes tell a different story: In 2008, nearly 6,000 people were killed and more than 500,000 were injured in crashes involving distracted driving, according to a National Highway Traffic Safety Association report.

These days, text messaging is one of the most common forms of distracted driving: 20–25 percent of drivers admit to having sent text messages at least once while driving. This is a disturbing statistic, because texting while driving is one of the most dangerous distracted-driving behaviors. It takes drivers’ hands off the wheel and their eyes and minds off the road. And even though some drivers admit to texting, 94 percent of those surveyed believe it’s not acceptable, according to a AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety study.

Currently, New Hampshire and Vermont prohibit texting while driving, and Maine prohibits it for drivers under age 18. In a 2008 survey conducted by AAA Northern New England’s Public Affairs department, members responding overwhelmingly favored of a ban on texting while driving. In Maine, 94 percent of those surveyed favored a ban; in New Hampshire, the figure was 96 percent and in Vermont, 95 percent.

Nationwide, 27 states and the District of Columbia currently ban all drivers from texting, but that’s changing quickly. Last fall, AAA set out on a national campaign to enact text-messaging legislation in all 50 states by 2013. AAA Northern New England members have been effective in voicing their opinion and continue to utilize our legislative action center to contact their local policy makers.
Will laws banning texting while driving work? Findings from a recent study by the Auto Club of Southern California are encouraging: In the seven months after California’s law went into effect, text messaging dropped sharply, from 1.4 percent of drivers texting at any one time to 0.4 percent—a 70 percent decrease.

AAA Northern New England fully supports all efforts to prohibit texting while driving. We hope that state legislatures across the country will recognize the safety issues involved and prohibit text messaging while driving, a move we think will make our daily travel less stressful and will also save lives.


THOMAS D. KINLEY
PRESIDENT & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER


















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