I learned with some trepidation that sending text messages at the wheel has overtaken drunk driving as a deadlier danger on SA’s roads.
Unsurprisingly, you aren’t really looking at the road for an average of five full seconds during a typical sneaky driving text.
That’s like the whole point of driving.
Sadly, SA always outperforms when it comes to deadly road statistics – and since our cellular phone providers have achieved 100 per cent penetration of the SA target market, it’s like a potentially deadly weapon has been put into the hands of every South African. And it comes with free Facebook.
New evidence suggests that texting on your phone while you drive is six times more dangerous than driving with a blood alcohol level of 0.05.
In joller terms, this is equitable to driving home after four pints.
Now the jollers amongst us cry foul: what of the fact that most partying is done on weekends?
You can’t blame us for accidents on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, now can you?
Even a diehard joller should collapse after a couple days’ partying, but people are literally on the phone all day, therefore accidents concerning texting and driving could potentially outnumber drink driving accidents.
It just takes a second and your life could change forever.
That still didn’t stop me from using my phone to email ideas to myself while driving to work the other morning.
Instantly guilt-ridden, I threw myself in front of an imaginary judge; pleading my distractible, lovable nature.
Although texting is second nature for tech-savvy people out there, as with most things, you just have to add an idiot and a speeding vehicle in order to ruin everything.
People who text and drive should be sent to type texts on a phone with no flight mode, a mile high on Malaysia Air. They’d probably be safer.
Even if tech isn’t your thing and you’ve been a calm and agreeable driver for your whole life long, just responding to a text from mother dear at the wrong time could land you in more hot water than waking up next to Thuli Madonsela in a mankini.
No one licks their lips murderously, stabbing away at those cellphone buttons, hoping to cause an accident.
It’s time the world of technology came to the rescue. How about some speech to text action, Siri?
Even if that was possible, what’s the point of buying a phone you have to talk into in order to send a message? That was the whole damn purpose.
That’s why texting is still so popular.
One can make a point without the person on the other end having to choke silently at your wafting tuna breath.
If so inclined one could live behind smiley faces and Xs for ever and ever and no one has to ever know how you actually feel.
Texting is personal, easy and instant. It’s the youngster’s choice of keeping in contact, even encouraging social growth in kids who would struggle otherwise.
Men have been known to send texts to avoid long conversations; women sometimes send texts to say “I love you”. It’s easy to trust a text, even easier to send one.
Therein lies the fork in the road: we’re all welcome to send as many text messages as we like, as long as we aren’t driving at the time.
For those of us who actively text while hurtling along the road; think again. That message will still be there when you arrive.
There’s a quote that goes “Drinking and driving. There are stupider things, but it’s a very short list.”
As short as an SMS perhaps?
That famous old bumper sticker that encourages you to “Hoot if you love Jesus” is now redundant. A relevant thought, however; because meeting your maker is now just a short text message away.
