You’re driving back home after spending nine hours on campus. As you travel down Assembly Street, your phone starts making that annoying sound, the one it makes when a friend texts you to find out what the plans are for the evening or when your parents send you the random, “luv u cnt w8 2 c u” message two hours after you’ve left home.
Do you postpone responding until you’ve arrived at your destination or do you choose to risk your life and the lives of others to respond to a text message asking whether you’d rather go to Pavlov’s or Pour House for drinks? Okay, you don’t have to answer that, but — if you’re like most of us — you’d probably choose to reply, not thinking for a second about the dangers associated with taking your eyes off the road or your mind off the primary task at hand — getting safely from Point A to Point B.
If the S.C. Senate Judiciary Committee has its way, those caught texting while driving could soon be charged with a civil infraction and be fined $45, plus court costs. While we know that a number of you will disagree with us, we support the state’s efforts to ban texting while driving. We’re glad South Carolina is finally catching up with the 30 other states that have already banned this dangerous activity. It’s the responsibility of our government to put laws into place that will keep the public safe. No one should be injured or killed in an car accident that could have been avoided had the driver waited to send a text or tweet from their iPhone.
There is no text, tweet or Google search worth the risk of ending your life or someone else’s. And besides, your friend, your mom, the guy or girl you met last night — they can all wait anyway.
