Rusty Walters doesn't get bored on his commute between Owings Mills and Towson - he has his iPhone for entertainment. With his left hand guiding the wheel, Walters types with his right. His eyes flicker between the road and the phone as he updates his Facebook status, scans Twitter and exchanges text messages.
"As soon as I drive out of the garage, I have to check my phone," said Walters, a 24-year-old who works in marketing. "I realize it's not the best idea in the world. There have definitely been many close calls when I'll put my phone down and not use it for the rest of the car ride."
While many motorists routinely send text messages from behind the wheel, studies show the practice is as dangerous as driving drunk. On Thursday, it also becomes illegal. A new state law makes typing or sending text messages while driving a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $500.
For young adults accustomed to constant communication with friends, picking up the phone can feel like a reflex - even when driving.
"We do it so much it feels like second nature," said Caitlin Caldwell, a graduate student in education at McDaniel College, who says she occasionally steers with her elbows while typing with both hands. "Everyone I know texts while driving, and we know it's bad, but it's hard to stop."
While it's difficult to determine how many collisions have been caused by text messaging, studies have shown that it is one of the most dangerous distractions for drivers. Truck drivers sending text messages were 23 percent more likely to crash or nearly crash than drivers who were not distracted, according to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute.
"It's impossible to send a text message and follow the key rule to safe driving - to keep both hands on the wheel and your eyes on the road," said Lori Rakowski, a spokeswoman for the Maryland State Highway Administration. "If you take your eyes off the road for just one second while going 65 miles an hour, you will travel 100 feet without seeing the road. That can cause a fender bender, get you into a work zone or lead to other dangerous situations."
Last year, Heather Hurd, the daughter of a Harford County couple, was one of two women killed when a text messaging tractor-trailer driver caused a pileup near Orlando, Fla. In Utah in 2006, two men died after a 19-year-old lost control of his car while texting. And five recent high school graduates were killed in a fiery crash in upstate New York in 2007, when the driver of their car slammed into a tractor-trailer moments after sending a text.
