The Truth of Texting and Driving

Chandler Gerber, who killed three people while texting and driving, states, "Focus while you're driving, pay attention while you're driving, don't take your eyes off the road while you're driving. Things can happen so quickly that will change your life forever" (www.itcanwait.com). People often forget the scary truth about texting and driving. The documentary "It Can Wait" explains many of the intense effects. The documentary shares stories of people who have witnessed and even experienced firsthand results of texting and driving. Chandler Gerber is just one of the lucky survivors able to tell his story. There are many reasons why people text and drive, but the consequences for both the person texting and driving and the victims involved in the accident can be severe, such as physical, financial, and long-term emotional effects.

People often claim that social or family pressure, time pressure or stress, and even boredom cause them to make the choice to text and drive; some people think it is not a big deal. We all have days that we are running late, have a lot to do, and find ourselves under stress. In the heat of all the action, we try to multi-task to get everything done quickly. For most people today, multi-tasking is commonly accepted in society. Texting and driving is one of the multi-tasking actions where we all take part. People who do texting and driving never think about negative events while they are doing it. For example, Chandler Gerber states, "I'm just a guy, that can't happen to me" (www.itcanwaite.com). He was focused more on texting instead of his driving. He stated, "I thought at that point in time I could text and drive, it's no big deal" (www.itcanwait.com). Chandler is not the only person to have these thoughts. People normally think this kind of tragic accident would not happen to them. Social and time pressures are also the major part of the reason. People often get pressured from social events, such as family dinner time, while going back home after late night work. Under the stress of the pressure, people may decide to send their kids or family members a text while they drive, in order to tell them about their late arrival. Another big thing that causes us to text and drive is boredom. Imagine you are headed out of town on vacation, you get five hours down the highway and everyone else in the vehicle is sleeping. You get bored because you have no one else to talk to, but suddenly your cousin, the one you have been too busy to talk to all week, texts you. You may decide to respond to the text simply because you are bored and texting would help with the problem. As you may notice, these things that cause us to text and drive are recognized as simple common situations.

The reasons that people text and drive are common and something most people can relate to. However, the consequences can be dangerous or deadly. Texting and driving