Texting passes DUI as scariest driving habit

Law enforcement officials hear the question all the time: What’s more dangerous: Texting while driving or driving under the influence of alcohol?

In the world of Facebook, Twitter and instant messaging, texting has surpassed DUI as the scariest driving habit on the road.

That’s nothing to LOL about.

Texting is a deadly risk as more drivers feel distracted and fumble with the keyboards on their mobile devices.

OMG is right.

We generally oppose state and federal governments passing laws to limit individual freedom. From handgun regulations to seat-belt laws, the government has tried to legislate safety to the ultimate degree.

So it pains us, in a way, to say the state Legislature or Congress should act to limit texting.

Certainly, it should be against the law for anyone younger than 18 to text from behind the wheel. We would favor prohibiting them from using a cell phone in their first year after being licensed.

In North Carolina, a new texting law goes into effect Dec. 1. We applaud our neighbors for acting in the face of sobering statistics.

A recent study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash or get into a near-wreck. The average distracted driver was looking away nearly five seconds. At 55 mph, that’s enough time to cover the length of a football field.

“That’s a tremendous amount of time driving at highway speeds and a lot of opportunity in that period of time to get into trouble,” said Rich Hanowski, director of the transportation institute’s Center for Truck and Bus Safety.

Meanwhile, a University of Utah study found the crash risk increased eightfold for college students who were texting while driving. And Car and Driver magazine found drivers who were reading and writing text messages had reaction times on par with a 0.08 blood-alcohol content.

North Carolina’s law bans texting and e-mailing while driving. A first-time offense will carry a $100 penalty.

We would encourage South Carolina legislators to look at stronger texting laws here. The North Carolina penalty seems too light, considering the consequences. A $175 penalty and a threat of jail time on the second offense might be in order.

At least 14 states and the District of Columbia have banned texting from behind the wheel.

North Carolina’s law exempts emergency personnel. We can live with the exemption, but first responders need training in the dangers if they’re excluded.

Police pull over dozens of drivers every day, thinking they’ve found drunken motorists. In reality, texting is the reason behind much of the swerving.

Restrictions seem like the answer. We wish someone in South Carolina would pick up leadership on the issue instead of waiting for Congress to act.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper. Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), James Bennett (regional editor), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (news editor), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).