OMG! What will Arkansans do in our spare time if we can’t use text messaging while driving? Does this mean we will have to actually watch the road? I’m getting nauseous just thinking about it.
The state House of Representatives passed a bill Thursday that will make it illegal to text message while driving.
The bill will be passed to the Senate for a vote, then on to Gov. Mike Beebe’s office for his signature.
If the bill is passed into law, texters will have to be a little more careful about sending short, half-typed messages to their buddies. If caught, the first offense could cost them $100.
I can’t believe we have come to this point. Could you imagine receiving a ticket for driving while texting? Just think about the embarrassment of telling Mom and Dad about your recent DWT: Driving While Texting.
I can almost hear the conversations between teenagers and their parents.
“Jenny, what were you thinking?”
“IDK, Dad, all my BFFs do it, too.”
“Well, Jenny, you’re grounded.”
“PLZ don’t do this to me 2nite, Dad!”
“Sorry, honey, but this behavior is senseless. Now give me your phone and your car keys.”
"But Y?”
“Because you’re grounded. No more cell phone, no more car. And no more questions.”
“I h8 U, Dad!”
“What did you just say to me?”
N/M, Dad. I was J/K.”
I’m only 23 years old, and I think I may be the only one in my age group who refuses to conform to this cheap form of communication. I got my first cell phone when I was 17, and even then I was reluctant to join the masses. I likedhaving the option of no one being able to get in touch with me or not knowing where I was. I was, by the way, just 17 years old. And now these teens want their location to be known. What’s the fun of being a teen if Mom and Dad are constantly inquiring your whereabouts? Beats me.
Text messaging became popular a couple years ago when I was in college, but I still haven’t stooped to this level of brainless activity — and I don’t think I will. I have a bachelor’s degree in communications. Talking or writing in complete sentences and using standard English is part of my everyday life. Even if I do mistake chimney tar for the last name of a character in a classic novel from time to time, I take great pride in the ability to use our complex language.
And I think everyone else should, too.
While the idea of instant communication is good in theory, it also cheapens America’s image. So what if your thumbs are agile enough to send 10 people a message in 10 seconds? Do you know how to write a business letter? How about a grant proposal? Do you even remember how to spell text messaging, or do you spell it txt mssging? Can you even read this column since I have spelled out words rather than used acronyms?
This is what, I think, truly bothers me about text messaging. Although you die-hard iPhone- and Blackberry-savvy hipsters will find it hard to agree, consider this: It takes less time and effort to simply call someone and say, “Hey, Jimmy, would you like to go to a party?” Given that Jimmy answers his phone, you just spent five seconds talking. Text messaging Jimmy requires thumbing around on a keypad while at the same time trying to remember what lingo or acronyms to use for the words “hey” and “party.”
And to think that some people are driving while texting. Seriously? That reeks of idiocy and a complete lack of respect for others on the road.
Rep. Ray Kidd, the Jonesboro lawmaker responsible for this bill, told the Associated Press that he presented the bill in honor of a man who was killed last year in a car wreck in which the other driver was sending a text message.
“Texting while driving clearly inhibits a driver’s ability to navigate,” Kidd said. “It has been compared with a drunk driver. Pretty much, you get the same results from drunk driving when you text.”
I would not condone drunk driving, but at least drunk drivers have the decency to give us a laugh once in a while on “COPS.” You know the ones I’m talking about: the guy who refuses to pull over but is kind enough to use traffic signals, or the guy who can’t spell his own name or remember his birthday when the officer inquires.
Just like drunk drivers should sober up or have a designated driver, I think text messagers also should either have to wait or have a designated texter. On second thought, just throw the phone out of the window and show a little independence from technology.
All I can say about the bill is, text messagers deserve punishment just for texting while breathing. I hope the bill passes unanimously in the Senate, and I hope the punishment will soon increase to a felony charge for the first offense.
Second offense: cut off their thumbs and break their keypad.
Who’s with me?
