Brookhaven High School’s Allison Boyd once fancied herself amulti-tasker behind the wheel, able to drive straight and safewhile sending out text messages on her iPhone.

On Friday the Mississippi Highway Patrol visited BHS and told the17-year-old senior and dozens of her classmates the dangers oftexting while driving. To drive home the point, they showed “RedAsphalt V,” the California Highway Patrol’s graphic documentarythat details the bloody aftermath of fatal accidents.

She won’t text behind the wheel again.

“I didn’t realize your organs could come out like that,” she saidafter the film.

Of all the many distractions facing young drivers, texting whiledriving is the most distracting and most dangerous of all, said MHPPublic Affairs Officer Sgt. Rusty Boyd. Talking on the phone,eating food and adjusting the radio are all dangerous, but nothingrequires as much attention to be diverted from the highway astexting.

“You get so involved in it. You have to think about what you’regoing to say and then you have to type it out and send it,” Boydsaid. “You’re constantly looking – and when you look back up for asecond, did you actually see anything?”

Many states have passed laws banning the use of cell phones withouthands-free devices, Boyd said, and many more are now looking toadopt specific rules against texting while driving. Mississippi isone of those.

Senate Bill 2595, authored by District Nine Sen. Gray Tollison,D-Oxford, would ban any driver from sending text messages whiledriving and would specifically prohibit anyone under age 18 fromusing a cell phone in any manner, unless an emergency. The bill iscurrently in the House transportation and public utilitiescommittees.

Violation of the law would be a misdemeanor, punishable by a $500fine and other penalties. An accident that results from violatingthe law would result in a $1,000 fine and harsher penalties.

The bill would also require law enforcement officers working anaccident to indicate whether the driver was texting at the time ofthe accident.

Boyd said MHP would have no problem enforcing the law if SB 2595was passed. Mississippi’s highways are target-richenvironments.

“If you stood on the corner and watched cars go by, you’d see 50percent with a cell phone on their ears,” he said. “It would helpif you could get out there and attempt to enforce it.”

Hopes are that rigid enforcement of a texting-while-driving banwould cut down on fatal accidents. Of the 42,000 people killed onAmerica’s highways each year, 10 percent – 4,200 – are teenagers,Boyd said. He said motor vehicle accidents are the leading cause ofdeath in the county for people age 15-21.

Texting while driving will only make those numbers go up.

“If you knew the outcome of something would be death, would youmake the decision anyway?” Boyd asked the students.

Derrick Henderson, a 17-year-old senior, already resists the urgeto text and drive. The urge may be gone altogether now that he’sseen “Red Asphalt V” and how easily a body can be mangled.

“I knew it could happen, but not like that,” he said.