The “hang up and drive” movement is gaining momentum. With distracted drivers killing and injuring thousands, the feds are holding a summit on the issue this month, and Illinois has joined the ranks of states which ban texting while driving.

Now a new study shows that every other state could fall in line — provided its legislators listen to the voters who elected them, and not cell phone lobbyists.

In a national survey held last month by Nationwide Insurance, 80 per cent of adult Americans favored a legal ban on texting while driving. Even more encouraging is that two-thirds of respondents favor laws restricting cell phone calls while driving, with 57 per cent even including hands-free phones in such proposals.

A Nationwide official called this a “groundswell of momentum on banning texting” while driving. So far, 17 states and the District of Columbia have such laws.

Of course, bad habits die hard, and many drivers will talk and text regardless of laws. Yes,  banning texting while driving won’t be easy to enforce. But no, that doesn’t mean such laws aren’t worth enacting. Before they were passed, laws about seatbelt use and drunk driving also were deemed difficult to enforce, yet clearly they’ve done some good.

Nationwide also found that 49 per cent of respondents said they did not make cell calls while driving. Oldsters are least likely to do it, with those in their 20s most likely. About 4 in 10 respondents who’d made texts or calls while driving said they’d stop doing so if that became the law.

Meanwhile, distracted drivers are killing and maiming many Americans on a daily basis. People tend to think they won’t be the one who has an accident while driving 60 mph in heavy traffic as they send a text and dig for something in a purse or pocket while also sipping a fast-foods soft drink.

But that’s probably what everyone who’s ever had such an accident thought until just before they had one. There’s always a first time, and for some, that first time can be a fatal last time.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by a distracted driver, let a car accident lawyer or cell phone accidents attorney with Jim S. Adler & Associates represent you. They know how important it is to hang up and drive — and have no hang-ups about fighting hard for their client’s rights.

Share on Facebook