Texting and Driving Prevalent in High School Students

Some local teenagers say they continue to text while driving, despite Maryland's four-month old ordinance banning hand-held cell phone use while driving, according to students at Old Mill High School.

The local teens said text messaging 500 to 2,000 times a day isn’t anything out of the ordinary, and whether they’re sitting in algebra class or behind a steering wheel, their fingers almost never stop fluttering across tiny cell phone keyboards.

When asked how many of his friends text and drive, Joseph Howard, a senior at Old Mill high, said “98 percent” without hesitation.

According to a law that took effect in October 2010, “a driver of a motor vehicle that is in motion is prohibited from using the driver's hands to use a handheld telephone except to initiate or terminate a wireless call or to turn on or off the hand-held phone.”

However, legislators proposed an additional bill this month eliminating certain loopholes in the cell phone law, prohibiting electronic messages and using a hand-held phone in any capacity while in a “travel portion of the runway.” The bill would also make texting while a driving a primary offense, worthy of a stop by police.

Anne Arundel County Police Department Spokesman Justin Mulcahy said statistics regarding current texting citations were not available.

Students recognize the law, said Howard, but rarely submit to it and find ways to text behind the wheel.

People use different methods depending on the type of phone they have and what they’re comfortable with, said Old Mill senior, Emily Marcus. “I know some people that drive with their knees [when texting].” 

“My cousin goes all out. She just looks down,” said Shirly Gray, an Old Mill junior. “She’s real good at it.”

Ian Erickson, another senior at Old Mill, said, “I thought it would be very difficult for police to pull people over for texting.”

In the presence of her peers, Marcus said she doesn’t text and drive. Not because it’s the law, but because she feels she couldn't pull off the stunt. “I’m not coordinated enough to do it,” she said.

Although the proposed bill from earlier this month would make texting at stoplights illegal, Gray doubts that will change anything.

“Red lights are the best part of the drive,” Gray said. “They’re pit stops for texting.” The other students agreed, saying they always play “catch up” to text messages at intersections.

With anti-texting videos popping up on Facebook and other social media websites, the dangers of texting and driving are becoming more visible.

“Distracted driving produces behaviors similar to an impaired driver such as weaving and failing to stop at signals. It is important that drivers remain attentive to the road,” said Mulcahy. 

Howard personally experienced a close call but kept a nonchalant demeanor when describing the risk of texting behind the wheel.

“I was with my little brother and we were on Old Mill Road. I was driving and texting, you know, glancing down, and a guy stopped to make a left on a road people usually don’t turn on. My brother said ‘Joey look out.’ I barely got around him but it was pretty close,” he said.

Despite acknowledging the danger of texting and driving, the students offered a response as to why so many choose to do it.  

“Texting is addicting. It’s like a drug. You can’t just drop it because something bad happens,” said Gray. “I feel weird if I don’t text back right away,” Marcus said. “I feel like I kill the conversation if I don’t respond quickly.”

The addiction aspect of texting was on full display during a fire drill Thursday morning. As students poured out the front doors of the school, at least two-dozen cell phones popped out as kids assumed a “text stance” with hunched shoulders and fingers swiftly typing.

“I don’t think [the law] stops anyone from texting,” said Erickson.

The illegal habit isn’t exclusive to high school students, but as prom season approaches, perhaps the new mantra should change from “Don’t Drink and Drive” to “Don’t Text and Drive.”

Holly Nunn of the Capital News Service also contributed to this article.