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Bob Wooten: Don't text about deer in the road
Normally, the last thing I want is the Virginia General Assembly trying to save us from our own bad impulses.
But when it comes to texting while driving, our lawmakers may be onto something.
The state Senate voted 28-12 on Tuesday to pass a bill that will make sending or reading a text message while driving a primary offense, meaning a police officer needs no other reason to stop and cite a motorist. The practice is already a secondary offense in the commonwealth, meaning an officer can add it to the list of offenses once he or she stops a driver for some other reason.
The bill now goes to the House of Delegates, where similar legislation has died in the past.
Confession time: Once or twice, I have flipped open my phone while behind the wheel and attempted to check a text message. That was all it took, though, for me to swear off the practice.
Since I use bifocal lenses, reading a message on a screen slightly larger than a postage stamp is challenging even when I'm standing still. Trying to read and stay between the ditches at the same time nearly scared the pants off me.
Even so, I still feel the temptation sometimes.
That familiar text-message chirp sounded three times this week while I was behind the wheel. On each occasion I had to stop my self from reaching for the phone. Twice, I just waited until I reached my destination to check my messages. Once, I pulled over to the side of the road, took a look and sent a reply.
There was nothing urgent afoot -- just routine business here at the newspaper.
Nonetheless, curiosity about what might be going on and the convenience of having a phone just inches away from the steering wheel make for a powerful itch.
Unfortunately, scratching that itch can be deadly.
Proponents of the Senate bill cite a 2009 study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute that offers grim statistics on the dangers of texting while driving.
The study found that text messaging was more than 20 times riskier while driving than avoiding phone use in any fashion. It also says that texting can take a driver's eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds.
"This equates to a driver traveling the length of a football field at 55 miles per hour without looking at the roadway," the study says.
Consider all the things that can happen in that time over that distance at that speed. Vehicles can change lanes, slow or even stop. Debris can pop out from beneath the automobile ahead of you. Your own car can drift to one side or another. A 12-point buck can leap into the roadway.
Really now, snagging a message that the gang's going to meet you at Starbucks can't wait?
Granted, the bill now under consideration will have enforcement problems, and the $20 fine for a first offense is a gentle slap on the wrist.
But it amounts to a chicken-soup cure for a dangerous habit: It can't hurt and it might help.
• Bob Wooten is the managing editor of the Daily. Contact him at 800-296-5137 or at bwooten@nvdaily.com.
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We don't need another law to make something illegal (not being in control of your vehicle) twice. If you can't glance at your phone to view a text message (the same amount of time you'd spend glancing at what song is on the radio, or glancing at a passenger mid-conversation) just don't do it. As a primary offense, you could be pulled over for glancing at your phone to see if you had a message or just to check the time. The law is completely unneeded and will not make us any safer. This is a prime example of over-legislating.