Other distracting activities include:
- Using a cell phone
- Eating and drinking
- Talking to passengers
- Grooming
- Reading, including maps
- Using a PDA or navigation system
- Watching a video
- Changing the radio station, CD, or Mp3 player.
Did You Know?
Research on distracted driving reveals some surprising facts:
- In 2008, slightly more than almost 20 percent of all crashes in the year involved some type of distraction. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration - NHTSA).
- Nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 in crashes involving a distracted driver, and more than half a million were injured. (NHTSA)
- The younger, inexperienced drivers under 20 years old have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes.
- Drivers who use hand-held devices are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves. (Source: Insurance Institute for Highway Safety)
- Using a cell phone use while driving, whether it’s hand-held or hands-free, delays a driver's reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal limit of .08 percent. (Source: University of Utah)
(The above facts were copied from the Official US Government Website For Distracted Driving.
Please visit the site today: DISTRACTION.gov)
I have a steadfast rule in my car: NO CELL PHONE USAGE. I won't answer a call, not even with a blue tooth accessory. I won't read or respond to a text message. If my kids are in the car with me, and if it's appropriate, I ask them to type a text I dictate, or answer the phone. Otherwise, I wait until I'm parked, engine off, to use my phone.
My cell phone voice mail message is: "Hello! I'm either away from my phone or driving the car, but I'll call you back as soon as possible. Until then, have a great day!" Of course, I worry that someone may take me for a snooty Oprah-wannabe. But if that message-leaver is a friend or family member I love, making the call from her car, and she is reminded not to risk her life or the lives of others by driving distractedly, then I don't care if labels are cast on me.
Some things are worth that climb atop the soap box :D
Have a wonderful and safe weekend!
19 comments:
hi miss nicole! what you said is soooo important. one of my brothers got a email last year that had pictures of a really bad accident where a big semi hit a little car and the guy got killed. he was doing texting and got over in front of that truck. now we got a rule in our family for no calling or texting when my brothers are driving. im glad for that.
...hugs from lenny
It took an actual car crash (thankfully low-speed) to get the idea to sink for my daughter to NOT DISTRACT the driver! Yup, my hubby rear-ended someone because my 7-yo kept insisting "look Daddy, look!" The car is in the shop as I write this. We're exceedingly blessed no one was hurt and only our car damaged.
I'm kicking myself we didn't consistently discipline her for this kind of shenanigans when she was much tinier. Parents out there--please learn from my mistake and don't let your kids get away with distracting behaviors in the car.
Whoops, that previous comment was actually me. But now you can see the two precious lives that could have been lost in that crash. It makes me shake every time I think about it!
I'm so glad you posted this! Whenever someone is driving erratically I check to see if they're on the phone.
Hi Lenny! I'm glad to hear there's a dialog in your family on this subject. Every important social behavior change begins with the family. :))
Hey Laurel~ Sorry to hear about the fender-bender, and thank goodness no one was hurt. It's amazing how fast accident happens, when we've just looked away for an instant!
Hi Aubrie~ I know! I notice drivers on the phone or texting all the time. Another thing I see all the time is people eating in the car. I don't know why people do that! It's actually sort of gross, when it's a burger or a sub, you know?
I have no problem with Oprah getting the word out on this topic.
I see people texting every day, many times a day. Many times a mile. It's illegal here, and with all the press (Oprah et all) it is still rampant, everywhere you look.
Especially the texting while driving.
I can honestly say, I NEVER once have done it. And I never will.
Great post! It's a soapbox you should proudly perch upon.
Mythbusters even proved that a driver with a cell phone, hands-free or not, drives worse than a drunk driver. Now that's a scary thing!
Hi Lola! Here in GA the ban on texting while driving didn't pass. Why the hell not, I can't tell you. I have, in the past, typed a text message behind the wheel, as well as dialed numbers or scrolled through my contacts list. After hearing the data and statistics, and the stories from family members mourning the loss of their loved ones to distracted drivers, I vowed never to do it again. Now, I just have to keep an eye out for those who continue the practice!
Hi Alex! I saw that MythBusters episode, too. When I saw the results were the same, even for someone talking with a blue tooth, I was convinced.
This is such an important message! I was devastated by the full show on Oprah about this. It's so sad that people would risk their own and others' lives so carelessly. Great post! Thanks for spreading the word. :)
You're so right. We have a similar rule in our house - both my kids drive. No one answers or calls or texts. The deaths and accidents have been too hideous.
Oh yeah, one of my pet peeves also!
Two years ago there was a major commuter train crash (with many injuries) caused by an engineer who missed a signal, because he was busy TEXTING!!! yikes!
good post!
In a conversation about texting while driving last night I said the same words..."Texting while driving is like driving drunk." A law will be going into effect in our state soon banning it thank goodness. I'm glad you climbed on this very important soap box!
In college, I knew someone whose sister was killed when she smashed into a highway divider while trying to put on lipstick in her review mirror. At that moment, I learned to put on lipstick without a mirror. I mean, how hard is it to feel your own lips, right?
But I can't text without looking, so I do NOT do it while driving...or riding my bike (which happened today. I had to ignore a call b/c I was riding. That's why they invented voicemail, right?)
I could not agree more!
Hear hear!!! It's too sad people don't heed these rules and plain good sense until after a tragedy. Let's keep the tragedy from happening at all!
Excellent reminder.
I can't believe how many people still do this. I won't answer my phone while driving either. What call could be more important than getting your children places safely?!
Important post. We have a big billboard in Cambridge reminding people not to text with a painting of a blood splattered windshield. I never do it.
This really scares me when I see other people doing this. I have heard that is like if not worse than drunk driving. No problem with getting the word out, Nicole.
Hope you had a great weekend!
I totally agree. The dangerous things I've seen drivers do while texting or talking on their cells phones makes me break out in a cold sweat. It's just not worth the safety hazard to do these things.
Jai
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