Texting Dangerous While …. Doing Anything

We all know that distracted driving is dangerous.  Yet thousands of people continue to text while driving every day.  And everyone has an excuse, or at least a theory, about why it is safe when they do it.  “I keep my phone above the steering wheel”, for instance, was a common theory I heard until texting while driving was outlawed in Washington.  What most of us fail to appreciate, however, is how genuinely distracting texting is.  Your mind, eyes and hands are all involved in the process of sending or receiving a text.  It is hard to imagine an activity more incompatible with manuevering a thousand or more pounds of steel around obstacles such as cars and pedestrians etc.  For those who are still unconvinced, however, you should check out a pair of recent examples.  In California, a man literally walked into a bear while texting.  See http://www.ktvq.com/news/texting-ca-pedestrian-gets-bear-scare/.  In another case, a pilot neglected to lower the landing gear while landing a commerical airliner because he was texting.  See http://gizmodo.com/5903386/flight-aborted-392-feet-before-landing-because-pilot-was-texting.  So …. for the sake of everyone else on the road, please put your phones down while driving.