Something you want to text home about

Is your cell phone your soul mate? Do you PDA with your PDA? Does your text messaging bill exceed your phone bill?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, you are exactly the kind of person Washington State was targeting when it passed a law May 11 banning people from text messaging or sending e-mails from a handheld communication device while driving.

The penalty? A $101 fine.

Although six states and the District of Columbia have banned the use of cell phones without hands-free sets while driving, Washington is the first state to specifically target texting.

Even though states have begun to banish cell phones from the roads, some people are still finding a way to stay in touch 24/7. According to a recent New York Times article, Americans sent 195 billion text messages last year, which represented a 95-percent increase from 2005.

But despite the increase in texting since last year, there are still no data on how it affects traffic accidents.

"The only thing we know for sure is that . people who are using cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in a serious crash," said Russ Radar, spokesman for the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. "But," he added, "texting could be even worse because the potential for taking your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel is even greater."

Donna Picciocchi, spokeswoman for Allstate Insurance Co. added, "Seemingly simple activities can significantly impair judgement."

She added, "Statistics show that the summer months are among the worst for teen fatalities."

And Columbia rising sophomore Jill Serpa admits that, like many Penn students, she does most of her driving over the summer, because she does not have a car on her school's urban campus. She said she has only texted once while driving but never did it again because she realized it was a bad decision.

Serpa said, "I wouldn't want people around me texting while driving . I feel that it's better to be making a phone call."

On the other hand, rising College sophomore Mara Gomes says that when she is home during the summer she drives a lot - and texts a lot.

"Teenagers . like to text more than call so I find myself texting at red lights," Gomes admitted. Still, she thinks it should be illegal to text while driving.

Yet Gomes is unsure of whether such a ban would be effective.

Under the Washington law, the driver would first have to be pulled over for some other type of illegal behavior - such as speeding or running a red light - to even be charged for using a cell phone or Blackberry to send messages while driving.

"Drivers are not going to be deterred by a law that they do not think is enforceable," Rader said. He added that if the law is not enforceable, it merely amounts to an "education campaign." And "education campaigns," he claimed, "just aren't very effective".

But for now, students who drive in Pennsylvania during the school year can keep communicating away.

Sam Marshall, president of the Insurance Federation of Pennsylvania, said that there are currently no bills moving through the Pennsylvania legislature that would ban texting, or even the use of cell phones while driving.

But that may not be the case for long.

"The legislature is considering a number of ways to address the issues raised by people using handheld devices while driving," said Chuck Ardo, spokesman for Gov. Ed Rendell.

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