Text Messaging While Driving Increases Chances of a Car Accident

After becoming embroiled in a twisted turn of events, I found myself in the side-front seat of a Honda Civic being driven by a very good friend of mine. We were just relaxing while cruising in the car, speaking theories and philosophies randomly when, suddenly, he pauses. I started to think he was having seizure or something, especially because of the odd whirring noise coming from within him. My eyes lowered and instead saw his hand pulling out his cellphone, set on vibrate no less, from his right jean pocket. I looked at him and said, "Don't tell me you're seriously going to answer that."

You see, me personally, I don't own a cellphone. I have never found the real need for a cellphone other than telling the time. Now, that might be because I don't call people on the phone much, but it is also because I don't want to risk having money stolen if my cell were taken. It's rather similar to how I don't own an iPod or Zune (though that may change), but I actually have a despicable factor I have found within cellphones. The reason? Text messaging.

For those who are uninformed, text messaging is the wave of the future on cellphones. Basically, say you're in class and you can't call anyone. So, you hide your cellphone under the table, set on vibrate again, and press your cell phone's keypad to type in letters to other contacts so you can talk during the lesson. A sentence you would likely see from a text message on a cellphone would probably be like this: "what's up" Another annoying thing is the fact that you can easily hear the tapping of the keypad. Now, imagine that happening with about 6 people in a room of 16 and they are texting each other, no teachers noticing. It is just about the most aggravating thing you could truly do to a guy like me.

But, as my friend flipped his cellphone lid, I groaned in agony. He was seriously going to text while he was driving! I exclaimed to him, "Dude, if you're going to do that, then pull over or something." He answered, "Nah, it'll be fine. It's just one message." I sighed, knowing that was most likely from his girlfriend, telling him she loves you as many times. I think he might have taken 3 minutes to text back, probably writing as many "i love you"'s. so, he flipped it back closed and laid it on the middle table. Relief fell within me, thinking of such happy thoughts as my life would continue living on.

However, within 6-7 minutes, the cellphone vibrated again. This time, it was a call. I tried to grab it first, letting him continue driving, but he grabbed it instead. I growled at him, ordering him to hang up now. He refused and answered the phone call, obviously from his girlfriend. However, she didn't seem to speak words of love. My friend's eyes were wide open as he was being told of something I didn't hear, but could understand from his facial expressions. The car began to swerve a little, me noticing it. We on the freeway, after all, so every other car probably noticed it. Before I knew it, The car swerved to the right, crashing into the side wall near my side. I fell unconscious from it immediately.

I woke up in a daze, attempting to remember what happened as I was sitting in something soft and cushiony. I then remembered I was in my friend's car as my eyes opened up and revealed the trashed inner right side of my friend's car, about 4 inches, I was told, away from my legs. If it went further, I would have lost my legs completely. I was unhurt, however, as was my friend and his cellphone. But, I didn't talk to him for a while until he made me a promise. He promised never to answer his cellphone in the car when he was driving. After the past couple years, we're still buddies, he's still single now, and his cellphone is always turned off when we're in a car. So, as a last word of advice, don't touch that cellphone inside the car. Turn it off before you ever go.