By Garrison S. Murphy ’15
THE ROUNDUP
Many people are concerned that a lack of a “texting and driving” ban in Arizona state legislature is putting them at risk.
Multiple bills involving the texting and driving issue have been pushed through to the state senate, but not one has passed.
Anti-texting and driving laws are in effect in 47 out of 50 states in the U.S leaving many Arizona residents asking the question, “Why don’t we?”
One of the age groups with the largest amount of drivers who text is teenagers.
Almost 60 percent of teens admitted to texting while driving in an anonymous survey, according to the Centers for Disease control.
“They (teens who text and drive) are not realizing the hazardous situation they are putting themselves in, and they are endangering other people’s lives,” said Bobby Enright ’15. “It’s such a dangerous thing.”
Each year it is estimated that more than 1,600,000 of the accidents that occur in the United States are directly related to texting and driving, according to the National Safety Council.
“I see a lot of my friends do it, and it is something that is not good… it’s something that scares me,” said Nick Roide ’14.
Even with these grave statistics, many still think that texting and driving is not a serious hazard if done correctly.
State Sen. Andy Biggs, who opposed the latest bill SB 1218 as state senate president, did not make himself available for an interview with The Roudup, but stated that “It isn’t necessarily the fact that you are texting and driving that causes the negligent behavior…anything can cause that,” during the April 2hearing.
Many Brophy students also agree that while texting and driving may hamper their ability to drive, it should not be enforced by law.
“People shouldn’t text and drive, but they don’t need to pass a law about it…like at a red light it would be fine,” said C.J Hasset ’15.
It is clear that a ban on texting and driving has its oppositions and supporters, but the question as to whether it would be effective leaves some skeptical.
“You can always make laws, but they are very difficult to enforce,” said Security Director Mr. John Buchanan.
“I’m not certain that a law would change that behavior; the teenager has to internally change that behavior,” he said.
