It's no secret that texting while driving is incredibly dangerous. California and other states have banned it altogether in hopes of keeping eyeballs on the road and saving some lives.
While texting and driving is still technically legal in Colorado, anti-texting advocates are hoping to change that soon.
And readers have plenty of thoughts about that. Patrick says:
It is not legal. Careless driving has always been illegal.
Jeff argues:
I can write poetry, eat a Big Mac, and take a nap in the snow at 3 a.m. and still drive better than these cry-baby freedom haters. No damaged party, no crime. Drive your own car.
Jason explains:
They still allow people to type addresses in navigation apps while driving. "Texting" is an outdated term for the full spectrum of problematic shit that happens while people are driving. Outlawing just "texting" will solve nothing.
Joseph notes:
Anything that takes your eyes off the road for longer than it takes to read your speedometer is not safe. Is that not good enough?
Ian says:
Exactly why I'm moving to Colorado. Legal texting and driving.
Keep reading for more stories about traffic.
"Denver's Longest Traffic Signal and Wait Times on Major Routes"
"Denver's Fight to Prevent Total Traffic Gridlock Downtown"
"Denver's Ten Most Dangerous Intersections"
"Why Texting While Driving Is Still Legal in Colorado and Why That Might Change"
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Distracted driving caused by people thumbing their phones "has to stop or be decreased in a meaningful way," says attorney Scott O'Sullivan, who'd like to see texting-while-driving made illegal in Colorado. "The costs on society, on our medical system and on people's lives — on the lives of husbands, wives, their kids, their family members, on everyone who has to take care of people who are devastated by injuries caused by this — are just too high."
O'Sullivan has been raising attention about risks on the road by way of the Denver Accident Map, a new resource developed by his personal-injury practice, the O'Sullivan Law Firm, in conjunction with his brother-in-law Andrew Russette, whom he proudly calls a "super data nerd." The map, which draws from Denver Police Department statistics, is updated every 24 hours and offers a multiplicity of information that's easy to access and consistently fascinating.
But O'Sullivan has also been active in pushing for legislative changes to make driving in Colorado safer. In 2017, he testified on behalf of the Increase Penalty for Texting While Driving Act, sponsored by state Senator Lois Court. The measure banned texting while driving for those under age eighteen and increased the penalty for adults found guilty of distracted driving from $50 to $300. Then, during the 2018 session, "we tried to make our state truly hands-free," O'Sullivan notes. Although that effort failed, there will be more attempts.
What do you think about texting-while-driving laws? Let us know in a comment or at editorial@westword.com.
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