Daily Herald Opinion: Keep your eyes on the road

This month, it’s more than just dumb to text while driving.

It could also be expensive.

More than 200 law enforcement agencies throughout Illinois this month are stepping up enforcement of the state’s texting while driving law, which spells out clearly what you may and may not do behind the wheel. Here are a few salient points:

• You may not use an electronic communication device ― a cellphone, a personal assistant, table or portable computer ― to communicate with others while you’re driving.

• That includes Zoom meetings and all manner of social media sites to watch or stream video.

• That also means you may not use your phone while you’re sitting at a red light, unless you’re in park or neutral.

• As with other crimes ― and let’s call this what it is ― if you hit someone or something, drive erratically or commit another traffic offense while fiddling with your phone, the penalties multiply. You’ll face a minimum $1,000 fine.

• In Illinois, if you badly injure someone while texting and driving, you face a Class A misdemeanor, which carries with it up to a year in jail and a maximum fine of $2,500. If you kill someone, you face a Class 4 felony. That’s mandatory jail time of 1-3 years and a $25,000 fine.

The law does not apply to anyone calling in an emergency, first responders using a device in an official capacity during an emergency, truckers using CB radios, using a walkie-talkie or reading a text that appears on your vehicle’s information screen.

All of this is meant to keep your eyes on the road.

In this day of social media saturation and the expectation that you can be reached wherever you are at all times, the fear of missing out is real. We get that. But when you’re driving down the road in your hermetically sealed, climate-controlled cabin, you tend to lose sight of the fact that you’re in control of tons of steel, plastic and glass moving at a high rate of speed. Driving is an inherently dangerous activity, and despite the advent of anti-lock brakes, blind-spot sensors and lane trackers, the most important safety feature will always be you, the driver.

The AAA Foundation found that distractions remain almost half a minute even after ending whatever distracted activity you’re involved in.

In 2021, 193 people died in distracted driving crashes in Illinois, according to the Illinois State Police. Every one of them was completely avoidable.

Young drivers, burdened with a lack of experience and imbued with an aura of invincibility, are most prone to breaking the law and facing its consequences. Crash statistics bear that out.

There is nothing that can’t wait until you have an opportunity to park or pull over on a shoulder.

Be preachy about it with the young drivers in your lives. Lead by example.

As we tell our kids, driving is serious business. Please treat it as such.