Texting while driving is dangerous. It is also a violation of state traffic ordinances. There is a handheld device ban in place that applies to all motorists in West Virginia. Drivers who text, read emails or manually dial their phones in traffic are at risk of citations if they get caught.
The law exists because the digital distraction that drivers experience could lead to them causing a preventable collision. Many motorists try to comply with the letter of the law while still remaining connected to others in traffic.
Some people simply try to be subtle about their phone use by keeping the phone down in their laps. Others use workarounds or life hacks that they think allow them to text without breaking the law. Those workarounds may not be as safe as drivers might initially think.
Texting at a red light isn’t safe
Many people wouldn’t handle the phone while actively traveling on a street, but they don’t see any issue with picking up their device once they stop at a red light. What these drivers may fail to understand is that their distraction could prevent them from proceeding through the intersection when the light turns green. Others might rear-end them because of their delayed response.
Even if they proceed as they should, a crash could still be possible. Research indicates that people remain distracted for almost half a minute after they cease handling mobile devices.
They may struggle to fully focus their attention on the road and could cause a preventable crash because they chose to split their focus. That same issue can put people at risk of a crash if they pull over onto the shoulder to read or respond to a text and then immediately merge back into traffic after doing so.
Talk-to-text software is also problematic. Most people have used the software enough to know that it frequently makes dictation errors. People may feel subconsciously compelled to check their devices as they convert spoken language to text. Drivers may actually be more distracted when using talk-to-text software than they realize.
When distracted drivers make unsafe choices, they open themselves up to liability. The person at fault for a car crash has to provide insurance coverage and may face a civil lawsuit if they don’t have a large enough policy given the damage caused by that crash.
