Texting While Driving

I see from today's news that more than a quarter of motorists admit to texting while driving. An amazing feat in my view although I do have a son who can simultaneously text, watch television and play with his cat. In fact now that he has left home I suspect that he may have added the aforesaid plus playing with his girlfriend to the list but at least he is currently a non driver.
I used to wonder about the erratic behaviour of other drivers though. Was the car approaching on the continental side of the road driven by a Frenchman, a drunk or was there a hidden passenger crouched down where they could not be seen performing some distracting sexual favour or other. I rule out drug addicts since I was advised by a policeman some years ago that the driver without the required daily fix may actually be more dangerous behind the wheel than the one with.
The risks of texting cannot be denied though. Driver inattention is the leading cause of accidents according to insurers and I don't doubt it for one minute. I suspect that as cars get safer and simpler to drive, the temptation is to trust the airbags and seat belts to save life and limb in the event of an unexpected situation, but of course that is a selfish view since the person you run down may be a child crossing the road.