Dangerous, stupid, and illegal are three words that come to mind at the sight of a solo motorcyclist kicked back and texting while speeding down the highway. Fellow motorists in Columbus, Ohio were so shocked when they saw the reckless driver, they took out their phone and recorded a video.
In the video posted on July 1, the car passenger states, “I was driving down the interstate when I spotted this guy riding his motorcycle with no hands as they were busy operating his phone.”
State texting and driving laws
In Ohio, texting while driving is illegal but for drivers over 18, it’s only a secondary offense. That means that a driver can’t be pulled over and cited based solely on texting while driving. However, riding a motorcycle with both hands off the handlebars is considered reckless driving.
Even if the biker’s identity is found out, and despite the video evidence, ticketing a driver after the fact is unlikely.
While the biker may not learn his lesson with a ticket, the video is hopefully instructive for other motorcyclists.
Texting while driving not only puts the driver doing the texting at a higher risk of an accident but puts other people’s lives in danger.
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Texting and driving is a factor in 1 out of 4 car accidents.
According to the National Safety Council, cell phone use was the cause of 1.5 million car crashes in the U.S. in 2018. Additionally, 390,000 injuries are because of accidents due to texting while driving.
What’s truly amazing is that while 94 percent of American drivers support texting while driving bans, so many drivers can’t resist the temptation to pick up their phones.
After 2007, when Washington State enacted the first texting and driving law in the U.S., other states quickly followed suit. In 2010, AT&T introduced the “It Can Wait” campaign aimed at reducing distracted driving due to cell phone use.
The laws and awareness campaigns from government and private partnerships appear to be working as deaths from texting and driving have thankfully declined.
Hopefully, this biker sees the video and recognizes how dangerous his behavior was. It’d be great if he got on board with the vast majority of Americans before he kills himself or others on the road.