Fighting a bad habit
Education will be key as GF’s texting while driving ban goes into effect todayGrand Forks’ ban on texting and driving goes into effect today, and a group of concerned citizens are already pledging to convince the community to abide by the law.
By: Tu-Uyen Tran, Grand Forks Herald
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Grand Forks’ ban on texting and driving goes into effect today, and a group of concerned citizens are already pledging to convince the community to abide by the law.
Members of the city’s Youth Commission made the pledge this week after reviewing a recent survey of area teens and their texting habits, which found that many now text and drive and don’t plan to stop.
The law doesn’t matter to them, said Kaitlin Foley, a junior who represents Central High School on the commission.
“A few of my friends are nonchalant about it,” said another commissioner, Red River High School senior Joseph Lee. “They said, ‘Oh, it would never happen to me. I would never get into an accident.’”
The answer, commissioners agreed, is an education campaign.
The Youth Commission was established by Mayor Mike Brown’s administration in 2007 and is made up of representatives from the city’s high schools and middle schools.
Statistics
They’ve got their work cut out for them.
According to the survey of 487 teens 14 and older in Grand Forks, seven in 10 now text and drive with two in 10 saying they did it “always” or “most of the time.” This despite eight in 10 agreeing that it’s dangerous and nearly six in 10 saying it should be banned.
When asked how many would still text and drive after the ban goes into effect, more than four in 10 said they would.
The survey, conducted by Central High’s DECA club, a business and marketing group, did not attempt to extrapolate the survey results to all teens in town and there was no margin of error calculated.
Commissioners were careful to not put the blame on teens, though.
“It’s all focused on teens,” Foley said. “If you drive down the road, you’ll see it’s not just teenagers; you’ll see parents.”
There are no surveys of Grand Forks adults available, but, nationally, adults are just as likely to text as teens. According to a May survey by the Pew Internet and American Life Project, one in four teens say they’ve texted while driving with almost exactly the same proportion of adults saying they’ve done the same.
The survey found that nearly one in six adults with cell phones have been so distracted by texting they had bumped into the car ahead.
Education
The Youth Commission hasn’t yet decided what it’ll do with the education campaign, though members have some ideas.
One is to just raise awareness of the dangers of texting and driving, which some tests in the lab found to be a greater distraction than being intoxicated or high on drugs.
The problem is teens already know it’s dangerous, and they’re undeterred.
Lee said he tried quoting statistics to his nonchalant friends. They told him they’d be really careful, he said, but they’ll still do it. Asked what good education would do if that’s the attitude of most teens, he said, “I don’t know how to answer that. I did my best to show them it’s not right to do that.”
He said he thinks the focus should be on middle school students, who won’t be as resistant to the facts.
Foley agreed that early education will help kids avoid the bad habit. And she said it may inspire parents to set a better example.
About the texting ban
Grand Forks’ ban on texting and driving, in force today, gives police the ability to stop drivers suspected of indulging in the practice. City leaders said the aim is to let officers educate the public, but they can also levy $15 fines if they wanted.
The law forbids sending text messages, e-mailing or accessing the Web from behind the wheel, even if the vehicle is stopped at an intersection. Use of cell phones to operate navigation software or to text emergency personnel is exempt.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com.
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