Kokomo Tribune
A vanity license plate that premiered in 2016 should be considered by the state of Indiana, should the standard plate ever fall out of fashion. The message is that important.
And judging from the 2020 legislative agenda Gov. Eric Holcomb announced in Terre Haute last week, he’s willing to spend political capital on that message.
As reported by the South Bend Tribune three years ago, the plates were being presented by the Indiana Motor Truck Association and had a very simple decree: “Put the Phone Down.”
As the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has found, distracted driving is a contributing factor in 10% of all vehicle fatalities involving teen drivers ages 15-19. This is a staggering figure considering how recently cellphone, and especially smartphone, technology has been a part of our lives. Your average stoplight is a visual buffet of poor posture as people stare at their glowing laps waiting for the lights to change.
Perhaps you’ve even been one of these motorists. And if you are, that’s part of the reason why the governor wants to ban all cellphone use by drivers, not just texting.
Here are some more disturbing distracted-driving facts from the Indiana Department of Labor:
• There are now more crashes related to texting and driving than drinking and driving.
• People who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash.
• Studies have found your reaction time will be about 30% worse if you’re trying to text and drive. You’ll spend an average of 10% of your time out of your lane.
• When you look down to send or read a text while driving, you take your eyes off the road for an average of almost five seconds. Doesn’t seem long — but a person driving at 55 mph travels the length of a football field in five seconds.
Not only that, but texting while driving in Indiana can carry a fee of $500 for those caught. Nothing on your phone is that important you can’t wait until you’re stopped, we assure you.
