[lisasays]

And that's how we have a police state.

No, that's how we have a slippery-slope argument.

Studies have shown that texting while driving is about a high a risk factor as drinking alcohol. If not classed as a felony (and intrinsically more difficult to control) - the state should at least do something to seriously discourage people from doing it.

[Noumenon72]

When you drive after using alcohol, you are drunk the entire trip. When you text and drive, you are distracted for five seconds. This is scientists seeking headlines, not a rational risk assessment.

You can tell from accident statistics that risk has not actually gone up as much as if every driver had started drinking alcohol in 2008.

[lisasays]

When you drive after using alcohol, you are drunk the entire trip. When you text and drive, you are distracted for five seconds.

Apples and oranges.

When you are drunk, you might be 20 percent or more impaired - continuously. Sufficient to cause an accident.

When you text - you are 100 percent impaired for 20 or more seconds. Sufficient to cause an accident.

Reducing your comparison to just one dimension ("duration") while completely ignoring the other ("severity") is just - silly.

Also, your estimate of 5 seconds total duration for texting is plainly unrealistic. It takes 5 seconds just to find the chat bubble (assuming your phone hasn't gone into sleep mode) and adjust your cognitive focus.

But this whole exchange is silly, so I'll stop there.

It's plainly obvious that texting causes considerable impairment, not just for driving, but for walking, or just standing there oblivious to everything happening around you ... for just about everything, actually.

Plainly obvious.