Teen thinks no texting while driving is a good start for Georgia

By Julian A. Hinds

A state law that took effect July 1 prohibits a teenager younger than 18 from using a cellphone while driving. This law was absolutely necessary.

Vehicle crashes are the leading cause of teenage accidental deaths in the U.S., according to car-accidents.com. More than one-third of the time, a teenager was behind the wheel in those accidents.

As a 17-year-old inexperienced driver myself, I can imagine how difficult it would be to focus on the road while texting or talking on the phone.

The local news program 11 Alive sponsored an event at Turner Field promoting their Great Hang Up program in which drivers were asked to weave through cones while talking on the phone.

Many of the adult drivers consistently ran over the cones because they were distracted. If experienced drivers cannot focus while using a phone, how can we teenagers be expected to do so?

The law says, “No person who has an instructional permit or a Class D license and is under 18 years of age shall operate a motor vehicle on any public road or highway of this state while engaging in a wireless communication using a wireless telecommunications device.”

State Rep. Matt Ramsey (R-Peachtree City) was inspired to write the bill after being run off the road by a teen talking on a phone.

Before the bill passed, Ramsey said, “If the law is enacted and proves successful, it will bolster the case for further efforts to reduce distractions among all drivers.”

State Rep. Amos Amerson (R-Dahlonega), another supporter of the new law, said, “It doesn’t matter if you’re a teenager or an adult, you’re still dangerous to other people.”

Many other states have implemented similar restrictions, and some have even gone a step further by making the ban applicable to all drivers. Those states include Minnesota, Connecticut, New Jersey and New York, to name just a few.

In the year after the law took effect in New Jersey, 109,000 court summonses were issued and an average of 10,000 tickets were written each month. Tougher enforcement means safer roads.

The new Georgia law is a step in the right direction in protecting motorists here. From the perspective of a teenager, I am in complete agreement with the ban. I intend to follow it and encourage all my friends to follow suit.

Julian A. Hinds, a senior at the Rockdale Magnet School for Science and Technology, is the 2010 recipient of the Marva Jones Brooks Summer Internship at the law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP in Atlanta.