You see it every day.  People yakking, texting, or browsing Facebook on their cell phones--while they're driving.  In Louisiana, it's illegal for drivers under the age of 18 to use a cell phone at all while driving.  Drivers of any age are prohibited by law from texting while driving.  But there is no law that says you can't talk on your phone while you're driving if you're over 18.  Judging from the amount of people in our state that ignore the laws, the statutes aren't worth the paper they're printed on.

Louisiana is dead last when it comes to drivers using their cell phones while driving. According to a study by EverQuote, 92 percent of Louisianans admitted to phoning and driving in the last 30 days.  It's like people are thinking, "It's my car, I can do what I want." Which would be fine if this were a victimless crime.

But it's not.  Dr. Katara Williams, Executive Director of the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, says that there were over 2,500 crashes in the last year that were attributable to distracted driving.  Many of these resulted in serious injuries and even death.

So, think about that the next time your phone beeps with that tantalizing text message. That little hit of dopamine that you get when you answer it is not the worth the carnage that could result from you not watching where you're going.

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