Distracted driving — driving while talking on a cell phone or putting on makeup — can and does kill. It murders sons and daughters, and takes parents away.
A few months ago, thinking about the research that says driving while talking on a cell phone is as dangerous as drunk driving, I made a promise to myself (and everyone else on the road) to never talk on the phone while driving. That includes hands-free devices. Even if your hands are free, you’re still distracted by that call. And if you’re texting instead of talking, that’s just as bad, if not much worse.
If you wouldn’t drive drunk, should you drive while talking on a cell phone? No conversation is worth putting other lives at risk. FocusDriven invites you to make the pledge to drive cell free.
FocusDriven is an advocacy group for victims of car crashes caused by drivers using cell phones. That’s right. Distracted driving has gotten to be just as big of an issue as drunk driving.
If you think too big a deal is made of cell phone driving, consider this: Studies have shown that people who talk on the phone while driving are four times more likely to be involved in an accident. More than 50 studies have supported the idea that driving while talking on the phone is dangerous. Research has also shown that there’s no difference in distraction when a driver uses hands-free devices instead of a holding a phone. For specifics on distracted driving studies, visit the National Safety Council’s (NSC) Distracted Driving feature.
One final number to ponder: NSC estimates that 1.6 million crashes are caused each year by texting or cell phone driving.
Please join me in putting an end to talking, texting or make-uping while driving. If you call a friend who’s driving, please tell that person you’ll check back later. And, please, never schedule interviews or important meetings to be held over the phone while driving. It’s time to put people before technology.
(Image via stock.xchng)
Post from: Blisstree