The definition of distraction is visual, manual and cognitive. Being visual distracted is taking your eyes off the road, so you look back at the kids in the back seat or at your phone in your lap. Being manual distracted is taking your hands off the steering wheel like texting. Cognitive is just taking your focus away from the road and safe driving, for example you thinking about the text you just got and you really want to look at it but you shouldn’t. In 2016, New Ulm had 372 car accident. From what Officer Brehmer said that most of them were because of distracted driving. He also said that it’s very hard to prove what distracted them in the first place, unless people told the truth. According to Officer Brehmer, If it was prove that the defendant was in fact on their phone while the accident happened there are fines that do take place, $ 50 for the ticket in total after court it will equal up to $ 225, but if the victim is badly hurt, the defendant  might have to pay for the medical bills for the victim. In other cases, if the victim dies due to the defendant texting and driving, they can face some prison time. Also when proven that defendant was texting and driving there many penalties like your license being suspension and high raise in auto insurance rate. The also law states it is okay to use your phone while driving only when you are over age of 18 years only  for no hands phone calls. When you are not over 18 you can use the phone only to call 911 or you have reason to believe that someone in danger.

I asked Officer Brehmer if he ever thought the computer in his cop car as dangerous as texting and driving is, his answer shock me. He Stated, “ That I use the computer as I drive sometimes and I think it is very dangerous. The whole cop car is one big distraction because you have the radio, the computer, the cage in the back, and you are always looking around and in houses to make sure there is no wrong going on.” I asked him if he found more DWIs or texting and driving and which one has he giving more tickets for, he said, “Texting and driving because I will see a student from the school looking at their lap and smile. Or I will see people go over the line and jerk back over to be beside the line.” He smile and laugh a little bit and said, “But the age I pull over the most is female in 20’s through 30’s. Even though I think any human of any age are addicted to their phone, 100%.” He also stated that smartphone have made it easier but harder at the same time to texting and drive. “I know some people that can text fast on the ABC’s keyboard faster than all the letter keyboard, but it goes both ways”, he chuckle.

We all need to rethink before we all do text and drive because it is not just our life in danger, it all the people on the road. People who are just walking or driving themselves. It’s very dangerous, do not text and drive. Life is a gift.

Driving is a privilege because of the inherent risk and responsibility we all need to assume out on the road.

For more information go to: https://www.dmv.org/distracted-driving/texting-and-driving.php