Hang up and drive! Or at least obey no-texting laws
Last week’s national summit on distracted driving brought much needed attention to a malady that’s killing and maiming thousands of Americans. It seems cell phone calling and texting along with web surfing is an addiction, and people can’t seem to stop doing it, even when engaged in the most dangerous thing they do each day: driving.
Since it’s not enough to say “Hang up and drive” and expect everyone to do it, anymore than it’s not enough to say “Just say no” to drugs and expect everyone to do it, states are passing laws to, in effect, legislate common sense. Up to 18 states and the District of Columbia now have laws on the books making texting while driving illegal.
18 wheeler, auto accident, big rig, car accident, cell phone accident, semi truck, tractor trailer, traffic accident, truck accident
Fatal traffic accidents involving a car, auto, truck, bus, motorcycle or other vehicles are declining in America. That’s the good news. The bad news is that at least 37,000 Americans still die on the USA’s roads and highways each year, and almost all of them die due to persistent and, in some ways, increasing driver errors.
Obviously, a single car can cause great damage on our roads. But how much more damage can a semi truck, 18 wheeler, big rig or tractor trailer cause?
It’s not enough that thousands of Americans die or are seriously injured each year in accidents involving an 18 wheeler, tractor trailer, semi truck, big rig or other large truck. Now trucking interests want these road monsters to be even bigger — and thus more dangerous — just so they can carry bigger loads.