A semi-recent “study” compared texting and driving to littering fines across the nation.
I use quotation marks because it’s more of a comparison than an analyzation of data. But, the Las Vegas personal injury attorneys behind the study summarized by asking one interesting question: Which fines should be higher?
Out of 306 people who took the study’s poll, 74 percent answered texting and driving. In 35 states, however, the opposite is true. Of course, laws aren’t always on trend with popular beliefs. And while the sample size is too small to speak for the nation, it is interesting.
They go on to insinuate states that enacted distracted driver laws early on and with high fines greatly impacted safety while states that waited and/or have low fines made little of an impact.
For example, Oregon banned texting and driving in 2009 with a minimum fine of $500 while California passed its in 2011 with a minimum fine of $20. One year after the laws, Oregon’s crash rate involving cell phones dropped by a little more than 100 while California’s increased by 10. Both states, however, saw increases the second year.
The poll question itself is not what I find most interesting, but rather the comparison or overall lack of reliable information we have for both of these issues. The previous paragraph is just a bunch of numbers, really, proving statistically little.
Perhaps a better question to ask is do fines help reduce traffic violations?
Texting and driving is deadly- there’s no debate. Littering, while not immediately deadly, is ruining our public roads and killing our planet. They’re both bad. Yet, almost everyone (for the pure sake of “not me” comments) has committed both of these sins at one point.
But are hiking up traffic tickets the best solution?
According to a 1969 Cornell study, also cited in the attorney’s study, it is a solid deterrence as people are apprehensive of officers, court appearances and license suspensions. And while on the daily commute, all those things seem more imminent than an accident say from distracted driving.
While an older study, the conclusion still seems relevant; but, also too simplistic. Drivers scan their mirrors for cops before committing traffic violations, whether it be crossing double yellows, speeding or, of course, texting or littering. I’d argue driver apprehension kicks in once they spot an officer or are in a known speeding trap, not just from the start of their engine.
Someone once told me “you won’t be a good driver until your first crash”. Today, I believe that. In my first (and only one thus far-knock on wood) accident, I was speeding off the freeway and failed to notice it was a doughnut exit. Miraculously, I didn't hit any cars but did manage to hit every corner of my Jeep on the guardrail. Nine years later, I still feel my heart beat faster when on a similar exit. The memory of actual fear I had makes me a safer driver..and even that is only sometimes.
That’s also probably why so many anti-commercials play into fear, from MADD and distracted driving to cigarette commercials. However, I’d still argue many of those still prove ineffective a few minutes after watching them.
Personal experiences are always the biggest inhibitors of bad habits; but, obviously not a solution for the problems associated with distracted driving. So I see why raising fines is the go-to solution, for now.
Maybe more would stop if the ticket was $1,000- in Alaska, the minimum fine for texting and driving is $10,000. That steep of ticket, though, could devastate families financially and if no accident occurs, do they really deserve such a severe punishment? Probably not.
Then again, 22 of the 28 states with crash fatality rates above the national average have higher littering tickets.
If I’m beginning to come off slightly “wishy washy” on where I stand...it’s because I am. Texting and driving tickets, in my opinion, should be higher than littering fines. That said, it’s just another step two in the process of making driving safer (step one was making it illegal). It’s not a sufficient deterrent. Nor should we expect it to be- hello, speeding!
So what do you think could be a feasible next step? And is there something that could come before the self-driving takeover?