366'8 8398 263 37483.

Confusing, eh? Even more so if you try to type those numbers into your cell phone. Even more dangerous if you're on the road.

DON'T TEXT AND DRIVE.

That's the message we're hoping to send to students in this digital age who are so addicted to communication that they can't spend 30 minutes cut off from the world in an automobile headed down the highway.

Our request is reasonable. Just don't type text messages. You can still have the radio or CD player.

You can still talk on your phone.

Well, maybe not for long.

OUR VIEW is an editorial selected and debated by the editorial board and written after a majority opinion is formed and approved by the editor. OUR VIEW is The Daily's official opinion

The National Transportation Safety Board urged state governments this month to prohibit teenage drivers from using wireless communications devices while they are "learning to drive."

We don't necessarily agree that legal precedent is needed to curb this dangerously growing trend, but with the two demographics (young wireless communicators and young drivers) increasingly overlapping, it wouldn't be a bad idea for state lawmakers to pluck a few bucks out of their campaign tills and pay some independent researchers to investigate this situation for the good of society.

This is an issue that is only gaining relevance.

"An average of more than 120 young people die every week in vehicle crashes in this country," said acting NTSB Chairman Mark V. Rosenker.

In July, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety released a study stating that "Drivers using cellular phones are four times as likely to get into a crash that can cause injuries serious enough to send them to the hospital," according to an Associated Press story.

Meanwhile, cell phones are going off during recess at middle schools across the country, and, at OU, some students log more text messages in class than pages of notes.

Still, amid concerns about possible law enforcement and infringement on rights, this issue has no easy solution.

It does, however, undoubtedly demand serious investigation. Until then, avoid unnecessary texting and driving.

753213 (PLEASE).
hello there & you too