Texting While Driving – Don’t!

She is seventeen. She was distracted for a moment and didn’t see the red light. Now, she has pleaded guilty to killing two young men who were on their way to a college class. That means that three families are experiencing difficulties. She will bear this burden for the rest of her life.

She is not alone. About twenty percent of the accidents that occur on our roads are caused by distracted driving, and texting is one of the main distractions. Sixteen percent of road deaths are caused by this threat, including the two in the first paragraph.

There is another accident that was caused by text messages. That one killed twenty-six and left dozens more wounded, some seriously. This accident was on a commuter train and the driver was known to be texting before it happened. He also ran a red light. He was one of the first people killed when the train hit a freight train heading in the other direction.

No one wants this kind of thing to happen, but I still regularly see people trying to drive and use their cell phones at the same time. Most of them are all over the road and driving at irregular speeds. All it takes is that second, that missed signal before the tragedy strikes.

This is how we handle the situation in our family. My husband has a hands-free device and can call or answer calls with no problem. He doesn’t use his phone to text while he’s behind the wheel and rarely uses his iPhone apps. If I’m with him, that’s my job. I don’t answer the phone when I’m driving. I won’t even take it out to see who’s calling. This annoys some of my relatives…until I point out that I’d rather irritate them than end up killing someone.

There’s a promise you can make, started by Oprah Winfrey. It’s a wonderful idea, and something we should all do. If you are a parent of a young driver, do what we did and discuss how to handle these distractions, then everyone sign the pledge. That will help keep you and your family safe on the roads.