We know the law, we recognize its value — and then we ignore it completely. (To invoke a fictional pirate, they’re “more what you’d call ‘guidelines’ than actual rules.”)
It’s true of the speed limit. And it’s true of cellphone use, too, according to a recent AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety survey.
Some lowlights:
- 59 percent of Washington drivers report talking on a cell phone while driving in the last 30 days
- 2 in 10 drivers regularly talk on a phone while driving
- 27 percent of drivers in Washington report sending a text message or email within the last 30 days
These behaviors come even as nearly everyone in the survey said such choices are dangerous. There were other things we admitted to doing, too — speeding, running red lights, driving drowsy or even drunk (remember, “Buzzed Driving is Drunk Driving”).
But there’s a flimsy excuse for all this ethics-bending: At least we’re not as bad as the national averages.
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