This is a video of Seminole County, Florida school bus driver Robert Stancheski caught driving while texting on his smartphone.
I hope this video makes the driving public pause and think about their own safe driving habits. Everyone is guilty of texting while driving at least one time. The technology is just too compelling and too convenient to resist picking your phone while you’re behind the wheel. It’s easy to underestimate the danger of DWT but the danger is no different than playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun. Would you take that risk with a gun? Most reasonable people appreciate the danger of a loaded gun and choose not to play Russian roulette. In this video watch how many times Robert Stancheski takes his eyes off the road. He even takes both hands off the steering wheel a few times. Each time Stancheski looks at his cellphone it is no different than Stancheski spinning the cylinder of a gun in a Russian roulette game.
In my work I have seen firsthand the consequences of texting while driving. I have worked on many car crash cases and too many of them are caused by a distracted driver text messaging behind the wheel. Studies show texting takes the driver’s eyes off the road longer than any other distraction activity. A driver is 23 times more likely to crash when texting. Add speeding to the equation and the odds go up even higher. In Russian roulette the player is the only victim but in texting while driving there are many victims. The consequences have no boundaries. The victims come from all social and economic backgrounds. College students are killed. Athletes are quadriplegic. Closed head injuries destroy professional careers.
The state of Texas passed a no texting while driving law in the 2011 legislative session. Governor Rick Perry vetoed the legislation saying it was a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.” The bill is up for vote again this session. Hopefully this time around the Governor has looked at the statistics and changed his point of view.