Texting While Driving –“Don’t Do It”

While driving home from college last January, Texas student Chance Bothe texted a friend, “I need to quit texting because I could die in a car accident and then how would you feel… ”.   His last text was “b right there”, according to KHOU11 News in Houston.  Moments later he drove off a bridge and into a ravine.  He suffered brain injuries, a broken neck, broken facial bones, a punctured lung, and too many bones to count.

Young Mr. Bothe was released from the hospital last week after six months of reconstructive surgery and all kinds of therapy, including speech therapy to learn to talk and physical therapy to regain his ability to walk.   He still has a long road of recovery in front of him, but he’s recovered enough to want to send a message to others.   He says about texting while driving, “Don’t do it. It’s not worth losing your life.”

Mr. Bothe’s tragic story is just one of a litany of such stories since texting became common.  Laws restricting texting while driving are either on the books or are being considered in most of the 50 states. And for good reason.