It is easy to forget more goes into being healthy than just adequate exercise and a eating right. In addition to those basics, there are other things that are responsible for keeping you healthy, but often get little to no credit for their impact on a person’s health. Brushing your teeth. Getting quality sleep. Buckling your seat belt. Taking time to relax and de-stress. Ask an average person and they would likely agree that all four of those things are smart, preventative actions you can do to protect your health. As the population of texters grows exponentially by the hour, controversy has heated up recently over the dangers of texting while driving. Starting Friday, a new law in Missouri will make it illegal for drivers 21 year old and younger to text while driving.

According to this Fox News article, texting while driving slows a driver’s reaction time as much as driving while over the legal blood alcohol limit. This may come as a shock to some people, especially those who imagine themselves to be a little more Superman-esque than the rest of us. Unfortunately, texting while driving seems to be relatively commonplace in today’s go go go society. And no doubt, inattention to the road is a likely cause for many car accidents. Nothing is so important that you have to send a text while you are driving down the middle of Clayton road during rush hour. You do not have to tweet that you are at the longest light in STL OMGZ!

I can’t count the number of times I’ve seen people, of all ages, paying more attention to their cell phones than the road. I was in a car accident last New Year’s Eve when a kid rear ended me. I looked in my rear view mirror immediately after I was hit and guess what the driver was doing? Putting down a cell phone. I don’t care if you’re talking or texting while driving, you shouldn’t be doing either activity. I do feel as though there are people who seem to be capable of talking while driving, though this does not mean I feel certain people should be allowed to talk while others cannot. Texting is a different story. No one can “see” the road while simultaneously “seeing” their cell phone. Choosing not to text while you drive should be as automatic as choosing to wear a seat belt or brushing your teeth before a date.

Seeing as there are currently many laws that people willingly break while driving (I’ve come to the conclusion that very few people in St. Louis have working turn signals on their vehicles) and I rarely see police take action against violators, I’m wondering how it will be possible for the police to enforce this new law. We are a city where violent crime is regularly in the spot light and our police force is disproportionately forced to handle those situations more than a 16 year old sending a text to a friend asking where the nearest Taco Bell is. Honestly, I find it sad that texting while driving has to be threatened by legal action (up to $200 fines are possible punishment, as well as two points on a driving record) to get the driving population to put their phones down.

While I think it’s ridiculous that we have to pass a law outlawing an activity that people, if they were in their right minds, should actively choose to not do, I understand why this law has been passed. What I don’t understand is why the law was passed only for those 21 years of age and younger. This should not be an ageist law, in my opinion. If you are going to police common sense for the purpose of protecting the greater good, then by all means, police common sense in all age groups. While I understand drivers under the age of 22 are likely to have the least experience behind a wheel, if there’s anyone who knows how to text without looking at their phones, it’s likely someone under the age of 21.

I leave you with the following relatively graphic Public Service Announcement out of Wales, reminding us all the potential dangers of texting while driving. Just because we drive on the other side of the road, doesn’t mean it’s easier to text and drive. Put your phones down, people.

Annie is the Sports and Fitness Editor for Girls Guide. She writes about all kinds of sports related topics and then really goes out and plays sports almost every evening. You can contact Annie by emailing her at annie [at] girlsguidetothegalaxy [dot] com, and we are still trying to talk her into getting a Twitter account – no success yet.