A safe, courteous driver used to be defined as a motorist who obeyed speed limits, watched for pedestrians and avoided drinking alcohol behind the wheel.

Times have changed. Those definitions still apply for good driving, but putting away cell phones carries the same value of the other sensible courtesies.

Too many drivers are clicking, clacking and yacking their way down the highways and byways from what seems to be digital addiction. The problem is particularly acute among younger drivers who grow up with cell phones and other digital devices in their hands from sunup to well past sundown. However, to be clear, there are plenty of adults who are also using their cell phones while driving, and this should stop, too.

This week, Wallace State Community College students got a first-hand look at the deadly risks of distracted driving when the UNITE Arrive Alive Tour stopped on campus to demonstrate the dangers.

After going through a simulation of driving under the influence and texting, the statistics.

According to Drive Safe Alabama, distracted driving is defined as any of the following: Texting, using a cell phone or smartphone, eating and drinking, talking to passengers, grooming, reading, including maps, using a navigation system, watching a video, adjusting a radio, CD player or MP3 player. And anyone texting and driving is 23 times more likely to be involved in an accident.

A quarter of all teen drivers are also likely to respond to a text while operating a vehicle. The results are often tragic.

Law enforcement officials suspect that more accidents than can be documented are related to cell phone use.

Many motorists who still maintain safe habits have witnessed countless vehicles darting through traffic signals and stop signs as well as parking lots while the drivers are staring down or holding a phone in front of their face talking.

The need to teach drivers to keep their hands on the wheel and pay attention has long been a problem, but the added distraction of texting is frustrating and dangerous.

We applaud Wallace for hosting this safe driving program – if at least one more person puts down a phone while driving, the training was worth the time.

And we’ll join the chorus of law enforcement and others who too often see the deadly results, drivers who insist on texting and driving must stop before it’s too late.