Driving is an essential skill residents of Pearl River County rely on to get where they need to go.

With no mass transit available in our rural community, residents of Pearl River County count on their vehicles.

To get to their destination safely most people employ a number of precautionary measures, such as putting on their seatbelt, using turn signals when changing lanes and keeping their eyes on the road.

Ever since the introduction of cell phones people have never been more connected to each other. Combine that new ability to reach anyone at anytime with the addition of text messaging and today’s technology can be seen as a wonderful thing.

While text messaging is an extremely convenient method of communication for busy people, it can be very dangerous when used while driving.

Warnings have been issued many times by various sources. But still people can still be seen driving at highway speeds looking down at their mobile device, oblivious to the dangers all around them.

What these people fail to recognize is that cell phone use while driving, especially in the sense of text messages, could potentially be the most dangerous thing a motorist could do.

Mississippi remains one of the few states without laws against texting while driving, but an absence of laws prohibiting texting while driving should not be interpreted as a green light to do so. 

Common sense and the willingness to get to your destination safely should be the reason you refrain.

The beautiful thing about text messages is that they aren’t going anywhere. They can be read at any time, especially when you get to your destination. 

If the message was urgent, the sender would have called to share the news. So use common sense when a text message is received while driving. Read the message when the vehicle is stopped, and reply under the same circumstances. Additionally, use a hands free device for calls while driving. Your family and friends will be glad you did.