Texting Raises Alarms as Accidents Turn Fatal

The steep rise in text-messaging is being matched by a steep rise in people not paying enough attention to what they're doing, the New York Times reports. Fatal accidents involving distracted texters are on the rise and a group of emergency room doctors has issued a stern warning against attempting to send texts while performing other activities.

Several states have already banned texting while driving and investigators are probing the role texting played in last week's California commuter train crash. Addicts admit that some texters can be dangerous—or just annoyingly inconsiderate—but say etiquette for the technology will evolve as it ages.