Teens and Texting Behind the Wheel: What Do You Think?
Seventeen states and DC have passed cell phone restrictions for teenagers. Now, Georgia lawmakers plan to look at a measure when next year’s session begins that would ban talking or texting except in an emergency. Tell us if you think this is a good idea, in our web poll. WJBF News Channel 6’s Paige Tucker reports.
Seventeen states and DC have passed cell phone restrictions for teenagers. Now, Georgia lawmakers plan to look at a measure when next year’s session begins that would ban talking or texting except in an emergency. Tell us if you think this is a good idea, in our web poll. WJBF News Channel 6’s Paige Tucker reports.
Paige Tucker
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By Paige Tucker
WJBF News Channel 6 Weekend Anchor/Reporter
Published: November 25, 2008
Augusta, GA—Don Brock’s been teaching Driver’s Ed since 1975. “At times, it can be very scary,“ he laughingly admits. He started helping teens learn to drive, long before cell phones were around to be a distraction behind the wheel. “Most of the time, you’re gonna be somewhat distracted, in one way or the other, whether it’s good or bad. So to eliminate the cell phone while you’re driving, I’m all for that,“ says Brock.
We talked to Brock about some legislation Georgia lawmakers will look at in January that would ban rookie drivers from text messaging while they’re driving.
“Not only just teens, but adults! They don’t need to be texting while they’re driving.“ Karenann Amster says she’d be for a total ban and makes sure other drivers know how she feels, including her niece, Cortnie, who’s finishing up her Driver’s Ed course.
“I never use my cell phone behind the wheel. When people use their cell phone behind the wheel, it makes me nervous,“ says Cortnie Burkhardt, a senior at Evans High School.
In the class, there is an entire chapter on distractions and how to avoid them. Cortnie says she’ll take those lessons with her, even when she flies solo next May.
But Brock says teaching responsible, safe driving can’t be left up to Driver’s Ed instructors alone. “It takes parent involvement, because the parents can’t let them when they get in the car, grab their cell phone, because we emphasize that in the class and in the car.“
We spoke to Rep. Barbara Sims and Senator Ed Tarver. Both say they think banning teenagers from text messaging sounds like a good idea to them, at its core. Tarver says there will be a lot of details to work out, because it would single out one age group and be hard to enforce.
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