No, that’s not a foreign language; it’s text message shorthand, and it’s a growing phenomenon that is taking over the world. And not always in a good way.

Half of all American drivers reported that they had used a cell phone while driving within the last month. Half. And believe it or not, almost 15% of them used their cell phone for text messaging. While.they.were.driving. Most people (usually the baby boomer generation) have enough trouble text messaging while they’re sitting on a couch, must less flying along a highway at 70 mph.

But, even if you’re amazingly proficient at texting, know all of the appropriate cyber jargon, net lingo and smiley components, driving and texting are just not a good mix. And legislation banning or restricting texting - that is whether writing, reading or sending a text message - while driving has passed in more than a half dozen states, and is being hotly debated in many many others.

For the net lingo illiterate:

FYSBIGTBABR = Fasten Your Seat Belt Its Going To Be A Bumpy Ride
DWS = Driving While Stupid
MUBAR = Messed Up Beyond All Recognition
EOL = End Of Life

With text messaging, getting from FYSBIGTBABR to EOL isn’t really that long of a drive.