In California, the law treats texting while driving as something less serious than a felony, but both texting while driving and drunk driving should have the same consequences in every state.

In a 2019 national survey conducted by the insurance company The Zebra, 36 percent of drivers aged 18-24 admitted to texting while driving. According to California DUI laws, the consequences are fines ranging from $390-$1000 for the first offense, jail, license suspension, and even probation. For texting while driving, the base fine is as low as $20 for the first offense.

Marvin Santiago, a teacher at San Pasqual High School, believes texting while driving is not as serious as drunk driving.

“I don’t think it would be considered the same just because if you’re under the influence of alcohol, your reaction time and your vision can be affected, and I feel like texting while driving is more like distracted driving,” said Santiago.

However, The Zebra points to one flattering statistic that shows otherwise.

“Texting while driving is six times more likely to cause a car accident than drunk driving,” according to national sources like the Federal Communications Commission and Edgar Snyder and Associates that were included in The Zebra’s same article.

Texting and drunk driving are more similar than what people think. They both impair the driver and they can both lead to an accident. 

“Texting while driving requires you to take your eyes off the road preventing you from seeing what’s in front of you,” according to The Zebra.

Drunk driving is widely known to have an affect on one’s vision. People experience blurred or double vision or simply can’t control eye movement. Texting while driving makes the eyes focus on a phone rather than the road.

Every state should consider this and treat texting while driving the same as drunk driving to prevent less accidents in the future.