Editorial

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Texting While Driving Will Leave You In Silence Written by: Brynn

Would you risk your life over a text? I don’t understand why some people would take that big of a risk over a text message that you could read later. Just one little distraction could cost you your life or someone elses.

Some people say texting while driving is safer than drunk driving, but research proves otherwise. Using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. That’s a really scary fact.

Textecution is a program that runs on Android phones and uses the on-board GPS to know how fast the phone is moving. If it detects the phone traveling at speeds that indicate it is in a car, Textecution disables the texting functions of the phone. I think this would be a great program for everyone to have on their phone, because it would stop a lot of the distracted driving.

Though 95 percent of drivers surveyed agreed texting behind the wheel was unacceptable and unsafe, at least 21 percent admit to doing it anyway. I am part of that 95 percent and agree that texting while driving should continue to be regulated by laws. = = = = The Silence You Shouldn't Get Caught In  By: Akina

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Do you text while driving? Have you ever had an accident? Well, I hope you said no to both of these questions. Texting and driving is wrong because you can kill or hurt someone. According to the University of Utah researchers, using a cell phone while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. Also, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety found that drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into serious enough accidents to injure themselves. Last, thirty-three states and the District of Columbia have some form of cell phone or texting restrictions, according to the Governors Highway Association, which Iowa is included among these states…..yet, this still hasn’t prevented many drivers from texting and driving. Some of you may be thinking that you need to text and drive because you need to communicate with friends, don’t want to miss out on family time, or feel the need to keep up with the latest news. Is it really worth losing a life over a text message? In conclusion, texting while driving should be regulated by laws, and those laws need to be followed. Therefore, think about your life today and stop texting and driving, and let your message wait until you meet your destination!

=Texting: It Kills!= =By: Dylan= = = =Texting while driving is against the law. Not only is it against the law, but it can hurt or seriously injure you. Many people get hurt and or killed when they text and drive.= =Texting, emailing, or talking on the phone doubles the likelihood of someone to miss a turn signal of someone else's car or the flashing light of a stop light. Sometimes if someone is texting, it can have the same affect as alcohol in your blood.= =I feel that texting can be so horrible. People die everyday from the mistake of pulling out their phone to read a text that could have waited. Do you really want your last action to be reading a text message that something that could have waited?? I don't want to! Think of how many people get into crashes even when they are paying attention! Just think how much more likely a crash is when you aren't paying attention. Stop destroying and damaging your life over something that can be avoided. I know what you are thinking: it won't happen to me! I know, that is what we all think; but expect the unexpected. Life is short- don't ruin over a text!=

Don’t Text and Drive By Taylor
==Do you text and drive? If so, you might want to get out of that habit because it could cause many problems. It could lead to death and or injury, if someone gets hurt from texting while driving, it could affect many people or family members around them, and most importantly, it’s illegal.== ==First off, texting while driving could kill or injure anyone that does is. According to an article by Greg Gardner, a boy and his babysitter were driving in their car. The babysitter was texting and then, all of a sudden, “Crash”!! The boy was killed in the crash. This happens every day. Drivers who use hand-held are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. == == Also, someone who gets seriously injured or even dies because of texting while driving could affect many people in their life. It also affects others around them because if they get in a wreck while on the road, it affects the people they get in a wreck with because they could get killed or seriously injured too. You could put your family and friends in a depression and make them sad because of you being gone. It could also affect the other people’s family and friends that got into a crash with the person that caused the wreck because they could become sad and depressed as well. == == Lastly, texting while driving is illegal. Talking while driving is banned in 10 states; California, Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Utah, and Washington. Thirty-four states, D.C., and Guam all ban texting while driving. == == Most importantly, texting while driving is risky. If you have children, make sure they are aware of why texting while driving is bad so they won’t do it in the future. Please, follow the law and go against texting while driving. Don’t risk your life for one mistake! ==