The text and subtext

We would all agree that anything that requires some of our attention while driving would more than likely slow our reaction time, but most of us have probably eaten and talked on our cell phones while behind the wheel. With the rise of text messaging, this new task is becoming a major distraction -- especially for young people, who are most in tune to that technology AND are the most accident-prone drivers.

In upstate New York, five girls -- all recent graduates from the same high school -- died in a head-on collision in late June. Records show that someone was texting from the driver's phone right before the accident -- probably the driver herself. Meanwhile, in Britain, a 19-year-old is going to prison for killing a woman in a car crash. The teen sent nine text messages during the course of her 15-minute drive.

I think we should remind ourselves -- and parents should remind their children -- that being in control of an object that weighs a ton or two and is moving 30, 40 or 55 miles an hour puts in our hands the lives of anyone who comes across our path or even near our vehicle. No one's life is worth a text message.