Texting while you drive is dumb. I mean, you don’t need to be a rocket scientist to realize that your eyes should be on the road and your hands (hopefully both of them) should be on the wheel. I have people close to me who text while they drive and it infuriates me. It would be one thing if all you were doing was taking your life into your hands, but you’re not! Philippa Curtis found out, while driving in England, you might just kill someone else on the road.

Curtis, 21, made a couple of calls, sent a flurry of text messages, and then smashed into Victoria McBryde’s car, which was stopped because she had a flat tire. Even after McBryde’s death Curtis claimed she could send and receive messages without taking her eyes off the road. Is that just a bad defense? I mean, I can probably send a text message without looking at my phone, but does anyone know how you would receive a message without actually looking at the phone? And I don’t mean just accepting the text, I mean, how did she know what to write back if she didn’t read the text?

Curtis told the court “I can’t really describe in words how bad I actually feel. I just feel awful that I was involved and I can’t really imagine how the family must feel.” Honey — you weren’t only involved — you were the cause of the accident. Had you not been on the road and had you not been using your phone, this 24-year-old woman would likely still be alive today. Certainly, you wouldn’t have killed her. Twenty-one months in jail and a three-year driving ban does not make up for the young life lost.

People, if you need to send a text, just pull over or let the person on the other end of the line wait. It’s not Jack Bauer waiting for information that will save the world. Really, what you have to say is just not that important.

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