As many riders already know, driving while texting can be a deadly combination.

Like drinking and driving, texting while driving is a distraction that can often cause a driver to inadvertantly veer out of his or her lane and cause riders to take evasive actions. While I cannot speak for you, I can't even count how many times I have been riding on the highway and have observed drivers that appear to be impared and driving erratically. I've noticed that on numerous occasions that these seemingly impared drivers may not be drunk, they are multitasking and are simply texting a message to a friend while attempting to operate a motor vehicle.

This is much more noticable to riders as due to our perspective of the road, we are more able to view what a driver is doing behind the wheel. When I come up on this situation, my first thought is to remember a technique I was taught in an Experienced Rider Course and that is to ride as in you're in a bubble. We as riders do not have the same protection as those in "cages" and require a higher level of awareness of what's around us at all times. It's our responsibility to use our throttle or brakes to stay in control and out of harm's way. Sometimes we have to slow down and to remain a safe distance from a vehicle and sometimes we need to safely accelerate and slingshot ourselves around a potentially dangerous situation. While I haven't received a traffic violation in many years, I'm wondering if I was to be caught accelerating around a texting driver and issued a citation if that would be a good defense in court. I hope I don't have to test this theory.
 
While I used to think that it was only teenagers and younger, less experienced drivers attempting to text while operating an automobile, I'm starting to see more adults multitask behind the wheel. While many states are now requiring the usage of headsets or other hands-free devices to use a telephone while driving, I've yet to see the issue of texting while driving properly addressed by our lawmakers.

But due to a recent tragedy that brought two opposing trains onto the same track and resulted in a horrific, deadly accident, texting is now being brought to the forefront of the news. Here's a quote from an Associated Press article on the NTSB investigation into this tragedy: "Federal rail investigators said Monday they would go to court to get an engineer's cell phone records to determine if he was text messaging when his commuter train slammed head-on into a freight locomotive, killing 25 people." The result of the investigation showed that the conductor was texting either just prior to, or during the point where he should have seen the warning lights.
 
As riders, we're more focused on the actions of other vehicles and unlike drivers, we're more in tune with what's going on around us and attempt to be prepared to take evasive maneuvers. After all, we know that in a battle between a four wheeled vehicle, we'll be the ones to suffer in the case of an accident. We also know that these incidents are not limited to our highways and are often seen on city streets which to a rider is just as dangerous. After all, there's no such thing as a "fender-bender" for a rider. We're either up or down. When we're at a stop light, and a driver is distracted and does not stop in time, it doesn't matter who is at fault as we are the ones who will be staring at the pavement.
 
Today I read a story in the local paper about a 14 year old walked into the street and was struck and killed by an automobile. He was texting while walking and it is reported that he was unaware that he was walking in traffic.

Texting while driving and now walking should be addressed by our lawmakers. While I'm a proponent of riding safely, wearing the proper gear and taking the MSF class on a regular basis (as evidenced by the ads I donated to the not for profit MSF), it's time to band together to remove the element of texting from our roadways. There are so many other distractions in cars today, that texting is one diversion we literally cannot live with. Possibly we can start a group called R.A.T.s. Riders Against Texting.

It should come as no secret to VOG members that I'm pro technology, but sometimes too much technology is a bad thing. Texting while driving falls into this category.

While State Regulators will most likely not listen to an organized group of riders, this recent train wreck tragedy combined with the death of a teenager along with so many other accidents that can be traced to texting, I'm wondering what WE can do to bring the perils of driving while texting to an entirely new level.

So, what do you think? Shall we start the first chapter of R.A.T.s?

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