The Echo

Issue date: 10/8/09 Section: Culture

Media Credit: Hayley Martin To text or not to text: Amanda Reno, a junior from Canton, Ga., texts her friend while waiting to turn onto 5th Street from the parking lot across from Holt.

Students have varying opinions regarding sending text messages while operating a motor vehicle.

Courtney Hensel, a sophomore from Murfreesboro, Tenn., said she knows from firsthand experience that texting while driving can be fatal.

"One of my close friends died because he was texting while driving," Hensel said. "He was texting and dropped his phone. He crossed over the highway and a dump truck hit him. His body was found 30 feet away from the car."

Hensel said although she has seen the dangers, she still texts while driving.

Ethan Poe, a freshman from Knoxville, said he too has had a close experience with fatalities caused by texting while driving.

"In Knoxville, there was a case where there were four cheerleaders coming home from a high school football game," said Poe. "They think the driver was texting. They wrecked and were all killed."

Poe said he also continues to text while driving.

The state of Tennessee recently passed a law making texting while driving illegal.

Some students agreed that the practice is dangerous, but said they are not sure if they think it should be against the law.

Peter Imoberstag, a sophomore from Centerville, Tenn., said, "I know that some studies have shown that it is just as bad as drinking while driving," said Imoberstag. "But making it illegal isn't going to change anything because people are going to do it regardless."

Though there is opposition there is also affirmation to the new law, according to some students.

Some students agreed that it should be illegal to text while driving a motor vehicle.

"I think it's dangerous and can cause accidents," Hilary Ray, a sophomore from Chattanooga, said. "I have no problem with it being illegal in Tennessee."

Ray said she often notices people on the road around her driving erratically while using their phone.

Jae Son, a sophomore from Chattanooga, said he understands why texting while driving has been made illegal.

"At certain times you need to be able to text people for emergencies and things, but at certain times you need to cut it down," Son said. "It's illegal now, so I think making a rule like that is reasonable. We have to find any kind of way to solve the problem being caused by this."

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