Students get message about driving while texting

Rodrigo Gomez said he has long known that texting while driving is a dumb idea.

Monday, he took part in an activity at Modesto Junior College that drove the point home. He and other students tried to shoot basketballs into a hoop while responding to text messages. They mostly failed, which was the point.

The California Office of Traffic Safety set up the event in the east campus quad as part of a statewide campaign against distracted driving.

The hoop was only about 6 feet tall and 10 feet away, but it nonetheless posed a challenge to students who at the same time were responding to texts from the organizers. They asked the participants to type in, for example, their favorite actor or color.

Gomez made six of about 20 shots, evidence enough that texting messes with hand-eye coordination, but he said he already abides by the law when driving.

“I have a policy to take the phone out of my pocket and throw it in the back seat,” said Gomez, who is from Modesto and studying economics and business.

The state agency says texting brings a 23-fold increase in the chance that a driver will crash. And it goes beyond the phone: Motorists can get distracted while drinking coffee, applying makeup or listening to loud music.

Alma Murphy of Prosio Communications, a Roseville-based firm, is helping to bring the demonstration to MJC and several other community colleges.

“We’re trying to showcase to them that it’s really hard to focus on something while you’re texting,” she said. “If you’re texting, you can’t shoot a basketball.”

Brianna Addington, who is from Patterson and studying anthropology at MJC, made just two of her shots. She, too, already obeys the state law against hand-held phones while in the driver’s seat, she said.

“I always see people on their phones when they are driving, and I’m like, ‘What are you doing?’” she said.

Don Merchant, who is from Oakdale and studying psychology, made just one basket while trying to text. “You can kill someone or yourself,” he said. “It’s definitely the worst thing you can do while driving.”

This story was originally published April 13, 2015 at 4:29 PM with the headline "Students get message about driving while texting."