by Cassy Moran
Texting and driving is a problem. Not just a nationwide problem, or a statewide problem. It’s a problem at Hudson High School, and the Students Against Destructive Decisions are trying to do something about it.
“The problem is that people,” says SADD president Shaniece Foreman, “especially teens, feel as if they are invincible or that the tragedies that we hear about never happen to us.”
According to textinganddrivingsafety.com, just reaching for a phone or other device makes you 1.4 times more likely to have a crash. Teenagers have an even higher crash rate when they even look at a phone. They are four times more likely to crash. Actually texting makes someone 23 times more likely to get into a car crash.
The Students Against Destructive Decisions have taken action against distracted driving.
“I think we focus so much on distracted driving,” SADD’s vice president Jessie Stramaglia said. Recently, during the three lunches, the SADD members had students and staff pledge to stop texting and driving. They collected 118 signatures. 
“By texting or talking on the phone,” says Leia Owen, secretary of Students Against Destructive Decisions, “a driver puts him or herself as well as the people around them at risk.”
People tend to text and drive when they feel the most comfortable. I noticed that when a person is driving on a road that they know well they tend to text, but when they are on an unfamiliar road or on the highway they might speak-text or have someone text for them.
“I believe texting is as dangerous,” says health teacher Dee Grassey, ”if not more than driving under the influence of alcohol and other drugs.”
Out of 84 students surveyed at Hudson High , 83% say they use a cell phone while driving or know someone who uses a phone while driving.
Out of the students surveyed, 51% admit to texting, and 64% admit to reading texts.
When it comes to using the internet while driving, 13% of those surveyed admit that they use it.
Talking on the phone while driving is the most common, with 61% of students admitting to it. Out of the 51 students who do talk on the phone and drive, 13 admit to talking on the phone all the time. All of these students are breaking the Massachusetts state cell phone and driving law.
The Massachusetts texting and driving law, which took effect on September 30, 2010, states that drivers under 18 can not be using a cell phone while driving unless there is an emergency. Though the law may seem strict, there are some states and countries that have even stricter laws. A loophole in the law makes it so adults can check directions or call while driving.
“In Canada, cell phone use is banned for anyone operating a motor vehicle,” says English teacher Carol Hobbs. “It’s a smart law in reaction to the number of traffic fatalities linked to cell phone use.” In America, ten states, D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands ban cell use for all drivers.
Massachusetts is one of 39 states that bans texting for all drivers, and one of 33 states that bans all cell phone use for drivers under the age of 18. However cell phone users can only be prosecuted if they are texting and have a traffic violation. The police must prove the drivers were texting at the exact moment of the incident, which can be hard to prove.
In 2010, due to distracted driving over 448,000 people were injured in a crash, and 5,474 drivers were killed. The danger is only increasing.
“Students are attached to their phones,” says guidance counselor Melissa DiFonzo, “as if it’s their right arm.”
Just here at Hudson High, 17% of juniors and seniors have been in a crash due to the dangers of texting while driving, while 42% of students know someone who has been in a crash due to distracted driving. It’s not just teenagers who are at risk texting and driving at the wheel.
Guidance counselor Melissa DiFonzo had a dangerous experience with a driver using a cell phone while driving. “I thought she was under the influence of alcohol,” says DiFonzo of a woman who was using her cell phone while driving on the Mass Pike at a high speed. She was swerving in and out of lanes. Distracted driving is not limited to texting and driving.
“I’ve seen many versions of distracted drivers on the road especially on 495,” says English teacher Carol Hobbs. “I saw a guy reading his newspaper, and one man reading a book which was perched on his steering wheel. Now I encourage reading, but that is ridiculous.”
Texting and driving is dangerous, and leads to many deaths and fatalities especially in teenage drivers. “I agree with the ban on cell phones for teenagers,” says Carol Hobbs, “perhaps it needs to extend to all drivers.”
