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Some drive with their knees, others keep a hand or even finger on the wheel; some glance between the screen and road, others just stare at their phone. Some do it at stoplights, others do it speeding down the freeway. Almost all of us have all done it, but few of us see texting while driving as a crime, much less fatal.

While we are aware of the extreme consequences that can result from distracted driving, most of us refuse to stop our dangerous habit. Study after study, researchers arrive at the same conclusion:  drivers using a cell phones or other hand held electronic devices have the same reaction time as a driver who is legally intoxicated. Because Americans still refuse to make a personal choice to stop texting while driving, the government has been forced to get involved by pressuring media coverage blaming the lack of federal laws on the ever rising death toll. The Obama administration acknowledges automobile accidents as the number one cause of death among teens, but many question what the government plans to do to lower the number of annual fatalities.

Recently, the media has publicized certain states’ decision to ban phone use while driving by instilling a $101 fine in several states including California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington, but no national law has been passed. Although several countries, such as Israel, Japan, Portugal and Singapore, enforce strict laws to prevent unneeded deaths and accidents due to results of distracted driving, the United States fails to establish a federal law to make the use of handheld devices illegal while driving.

Since the mainstream explosion of texting, activist groups have fought for state and federal legislatures to enforce stricter laws concerning the use of electronic devices while driving. Other groups and websites, such as KeepTheDrive.com, promote safe driving habits for teens and young adults, the age group most likely to text while driving. As the death toll and number of accidents caused by distracted drivers rises, the involvement of the public as well as the government has also grown.

Obama’s Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, also has taken notice of what he deems a “deadly epidemic.” LaHood believes the battle against our text-happy generation to stop using phones and other distracting electronics while driving will be much more difficult than the 1980’s movement against drunk driving simply because drivers do not relate the consequences of distracted driving with the consequences of drunk driving.

While teens are not the only ones texting and driving, we are already the most prone to be in an automobile accident; distracted driving only increases our chances. Students at American Heritage are no exception; our student body needs to recognize the statistics and especially the consequence. We should help encourage the local and even federal government to ban distracted driving to make the hazardous roads a little safer. Teenagers need to begin associating getting into a car with a distracted driver with getting into a car with an intoxicated driver. Once we make the connection, we will begin to take this epidemic more seriously.