New products and new technologies often need new words to describe them, but new technology can also be used as an excuse to create a new word when one is not needed. Intexticated is one such example, which, incredibly, was considered by Oxford as a potential word of the year.

Intexticated means being distracted by texting on a cell phone while driving a vehicle. Being distracted while driving is nothing new; in fact, distracted driving is the number one killer of American teenagers.

It should be referred to in terms that paint a more accurate picture, such as misdemeanor or vehicular homicide–depending on the result of the distraction.

Making a cute, little name for it does nothing to raise awareness of the dangers of distracted driving; if anything, it makes it seem less serious and less dangerous.

–Paul