The Facts: Texting while driving is illegal in North Carolina, effective Tuesday. The change brings North Carolina policy in line with that of 17 other states and the District of Columbia.

Our Opinion: The ban is a step in the right direction. North Carolinians should consider it a wake-up call on distracted driving and revisit their own driving habits.

Effective Tuesday, texting while driving is illegal in North Carolina, as it already is in two of North Carolina’s neighboring states — Virginia and Tennessee — and 15 other states across the country.

The new law intends to curb fatalities induced by distracted drivers. A report published by the University of Utah indicated that drivers who text while driving are eight times more likely to become involved in an accident. Likewise, a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that truck drivers who text while driving are 25 times more likely to be involved in an accident.

Prohibiting texting while driving is common sense. The statistics support the new law and it hardly falls into the category of something that is necessary.

Endangering yourself and others by texting is a form of distracted driving which should have been outlawed years ago.

Despite the change, texting is still allowed while drivers are at stoplights or pulled over to the side of the road.

That provision and other questions of enforcement have already led many to question whether or not the policy will actually be enforced.

With that question in mind, the General Assembly should consider taking the next step and banning cell phone usage while driving altogether (without hands-free devices at least). Six states and the District of Columbia have already made that step, indicating a serious commitment to improving public safety.

Many communities have complained about the level of success and enforcement on those laws, but strict rules on texting and cell phone use will doubtlessly limit distractions caused by cell phones.

A text or cell phone call on short trips cannot possibly bear out the distraction and possible fatalities the quips can cost. The risk isn’t worth it.

The ban on texting while driving is definitely a step in the right direction, though. Students, faculty and staff should take it as an opportunity to evaluate their own driving habits and consider if those 15 seconds of distraction are really worth it. This isn’t a nuisance, it’s a chance for us all to reevaluate our driving and make the roads a little bit safer.