Savannah Olivarez
TBS Contributing Writer
Texting while driving is a really bad thing to do and choice to make. People put each other in danger everyday by doing that and a growing number of people agree that drastic steps are needed to end it altogether.
The 90-day grace period is over now and the no texting while driving law is now in effect, after the San Antonio city council’s unianimous passage of a texting ban back in the month of October. The grace period ended on Jan. 14, so now tickets are being issued by law enforcement.
People who get pulled over for texting while driving run the risk of losing their licenses. Loss of licenses may occur for refusal to pay fines up to $200 dollars, according to the ordinance.
The new ordinance prohibits using a hand-held mobile communication device to send, read, or write a text message, view pictures or written texts, weather transmitted by Internet or other electronical means, engaging in gaming or any other use of the device besides dialing telephone numbers or talking to another person while operating a moving motor vehicle.
Angie Olivarez represents many adults in the community that have concerns about this new ordinance.
“I understand that texting while driving is dangerous, people should not be texting on the highway or on busy streets. But I don’t think it’s fair that I can’t check my texts or my e-mails while I’m at a stop light or a railroad crossing. That is an unreasonable request. I believe that were going to see a large market for speak to text because of this band,” Olivarez said.
The no texting while driving law also applies to drivers that are stopped in traffic. The ordinance prohibits using cell phones at all other than calling someone else, even if you’re stopped at a red light.
San Antonio is the third major city after El Paso and Austin to ban texting while driving, according to a report published in the San Antonio Express News.
“I know that texting while driving can cause many harmful situations. However, as a busy working mom sometimes it’s really tempting to catch up on my e-mails and texts while I’m in the car. I would also find it interesting to in force this law,” Mrs. Philbrick, DATA Architecture teacher, said.
According to the national safety council, cell phone use leads to 1.6 million crashes annually, about 200,000 of which are caused by texting and driving.
Last year, the Pew Research Center released a report that 47 percent of adults admitted to texting while driving. The same report said that 34 percent of teenagers texted while driving, which is contrary to the popular belief that teenagers text more while driving than adults.
“I think it’s very dangerous. I feel very threatened while my daughter’s texting while driving. There has been too many horror stories about people being killed in car accidents while texting,” Mrs. Nagel, DATA secretary, said.
So therefore everyone has their own opinions on texting while driving. In fact, people should start a protest about checking your e-mails and texts at a stop light because, not doing that is really ridiculous. But other than that people are fine with the no texting while driving law on the highways and on busy streets.
That kind of thinking right there will cause so many accidents. The fact that they came out with this new law, there will not be as many accidents relating to texting while driving.