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Madison students admit to texting and driving
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By ELISA SAND, Staff Reporter
| 10/05/2009 |
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Nearly half a million injuries caused by vehicle crashes are attributed to distracted drivers. National officials are pointing toward mobile devices as one of the distractions.
Recent federal meetings concerning automobile safety have featured discussions on requiring states to pass laws that prohibit texting and driving, but Madison students question how such laws would be enforced.
Members of the Buckle-Up Bulldogs committee at Madison High School gathered Friday to discuss upcoming promotional events that will include surveying the number of students wearing seat belts when they arrive at school. During the meeting, students were asked about their own activities while driving -- but it wasn't about seat belt use. The topic was texting.
In a show of hands, 18 of the 26 students present admitted to texting while driving. Six students admitted that they routinely text and drive, and four said they had nearly had an accidents.
When asked why they text and drive, some students said they did so out of boredom. Others said they text because they received a message and wanted to quickly respond back because they felt like if set the phone aside to reply later, they might forget.
The same group of students was asked if they have ever been a nervous passenger in a car with a driver who has been texting. Several heads nodded affirmatively, and one student went so far as to say that she grabs the wheel to keep the car on the road because her friend won't give up the phone.
Of those who admitted to texting, they also said they text less with friends in the car with them because their friends can send a message back.
A few of the students said that they do not text while driving, but some said it's not an option available on their phones. However, if texting were an option, they admitted that they would likely text as well.
One student said she doesn't text in the car. Admittedly not the best driver, she said that texting is simply too distracting for her.
For their final question, students were asked if they would continue texting if a law prohibiting texting were passed. Most said yes, and one student questioned outright how such a law would be monitored. Another said that unless there were a threat of being caught, he/she would still do it.
Diana Larson, Buckle-Up Buldogs advisor and high school counselor, said that attitude is the same for students when it comes to buckling their seat belts.
"How do we get around that mentality?" she asked.
Larson said the feedback she heard from students during Friday's meeting was probably typical of the entire student population.
"What's really sad is they had close enough instances that it scared them, but not enough for them to want to stop," Larson said.
What it comes down to, she said, is a lack of self-control. The option is there for students to instantly respond to a message, she said, but they can't control the impulse to reply right away.
In addition to upcoming parking lot surveys, other activities planned by the Buckle-up Bulldogs committee include talking to elementary students about using seat belts. The state Highway Patrol will have its rollover simulator at Trojan Field for Friday's football game. The group will be encouraging Madison community members to wear their seat belts on Oct. 15 at F&M during a promotional event offering a rebate to customers who fill up on ethanol-blended gasoline from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
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©Madison Daily Leader 2009
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