A new bill concerning texting and driving could soon be passed that would affect hundreds of Florida drivers. Texting behind the wheel could become a primary offense in the state of Florida within the next month. Several UT students believe this could be a positive change for not just the UT community but for drivers in Florida.
Currently, cops have to pull drivers over for a traffic violation in order to issue them a ticket for texting. However, with this new bill, cops can pull over any driver texting, using their GPS or checking social media sites.
Last year, over 4,500 accidents occurred because of distracted drivers, according to WLRN. Law enforcement officials say that 255 of those accidents were caused by texting. Since last October, 393 secondary offense tickets have been issued statewide, according to the Sun Sentinel. Last semester, UT’s It Can’t Wait campaign worked with AT&T to get students to sign the pledge. Within five hours, over 843 students signed the pledge, promising not to text and drive. If it weren’t for the campaign, the severity of texting and driving wouldn’t of been recognized by FOX 5 news, who in turn helped use the story to pilot the law.
PK Creedon, Student Government president and a senior majoring in international business, has seen the effects of texting and driving. A few days ago when Creedon checked his Facebook page, he was shocked to see that a close friend was hit by a driver that was texting. Underneath the picture was a caption with a message that many of drivers tend to forget, “It’s not worth texting and driving.”
Even when quickly glancing at a text, a driver’s attention is taken away for five seconds, according to the Texting and Driving Safety Association. If traveling on a highway at 55 miles per hour, a driver could easily pass the length of a football field without glancing at the road.
“Until you know someone that it has happened to, it doesn’t seem to register,” said Kelsea Roccapriore, a senior nursing major.
Lexi Loring, a senior majoring in communication who signed the It Can Wait campaign, thinks drivers can easily lie about using their GPS on their phones to get out of a ticket. Loring said there needs to be no gray areas “so that they [cops] can crack down on texting and driving.”
Another aspect the bill covers is punishing drivers who cause deadly accidents. For a driver that causes a deadly accident, it could land them 30 years in jail, according to WPTV. Representative Irv Slosberg said if the bill is not passed, he will push for it to be passed next year.
Many drivers find themselves getting distracted by checking Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, a text or snapchat while driving. “It’s a rapidly increasing problem, especially with our generation. We are kinda blacklisted as the technology age,” Loring said. “Everyone needs to be a responsible driver. Already your focus is impaired by everything else you have going on.”
The House of Representatives is expected to approve the bill by the end of May, according to UTV44.