Jonny was the star of the football team, loved by all and feared by his opponents. He was an all-state quarterback with a full ride to Ohio State. He had his whole life ahead of him. One day after a tough practice, Jonny was driving home, unfortunately with his phone in his lap. As he was texting his girlfriend and not paying attention, he ran a red light. Ironically, someone else was texting and driving while going the opposite direction of him. As he was running the red light, the other person was speeding up. He blind-sided Jonny, sending his car flying and flipping, destroying his car completely. Texting while driving is one of the most dangerous actions you could take part in. You are not only endangering your own life by sending a text, but also those of other drivers by driving recklessly and without regard for others.

Nearly as dangerous as drunk driving, your risk of getting into a crash while texting is 23 times greater than if you were not. A study done by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute shows that drivers look down at their phone for 5 seconds at a time. At highway speeds, you can cover up to the length of a football field in 5 seconds. The distance of a football field is a long distance to not have any control over where you are going. The AAA Foundation for traffic safety found that 95% of drivers say texting while driving is dangerous, yet 21% still do it. Be a part of the other 79%, don’t text and drive, and save your life and others lives today (Opposing viewpoints).

Whether you’re running through red lights or stopping short, texting and driving can cause you to drive recklessly and carelessly. Is sending just one more text worth running that red light? Is it worth the fine that comes with it? It is not worth the risk you put on yourself and others. No matter how convenient it may be it is not worth a crash, being paralyzed or even death. Many people have been seriously injured and killed because of their reckless driving while texting. Take it from Jonny, once an all-star athlete, now a has-been all because of a stupid mistake that Jonny made. You wouldn’t drive drunk, so why would you drive texting?

Just think about how many lives could be saved by waiting to laugh out loud to your friend’s joke. You can laugh out loud anytime, and doing it while driving could make it the last time you ever laugh. Since many people believe that they are invincible, they think they can text, drive, and pay attention all at the same time, but they soon find out otherwise in a fatal accident.

Countless lives could be saved if we all take a vow to stop this monstrosity. By doing this, we all can drive with a peace of mind again. Promise this to yourself. Save a life today.


Driving and texting at the same time is one of the most dangerous activities to take part in, leaving you driving reckless and without regard to the road. Jonny lost everything because of a simple text message. He wasn’t unintelligent, just misled to believe he could drive safely and text at the same time. He is paralyzed from the waist down without a scholarship and without a future. If he would have waited to text, he would be a super-star; he would have winded up with a professional career in football. Do you want to end up like him, with nothing? Wait to text, eliminate this dangerous risk, and save your life.