Tuesday, March 30, 2010
"Mom says not to forget her umbrella."
9:12 AM | 
Posted by
Andrea
Did you know?
71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit to talking on
their phone or texting while driving.
Those stories made headlines but there are thousands of people every year affected by things like this. Nearly 500,000 people are injured and 6,000 are killed each year because drivers are talking, texting and emailing behind the wheel. You might think somehow that this will never affect you but the next thing you know your mom, dad, brother, sister, cousin or best friend is one of these people. It isn't just a statistic.
You're probably wondering what the title of this post is all about and what it has to do with any of this. "Mom says not to forget her umbrella." That is the last text sent on my phone. We were at a concert to which my sister brought my mom's umbrella. I was told to remind her not to forget it at the venue. Now, compare that scenario to someone's life. If I had been texting that while driving and got into an accident perhaps killing someone, how would I have felt? It's SO not worth it. NO text message or phone call is worth someone's (or your own) life. It could happen to anybody.
I got these statistics and quotes from Oprah and Oprah.com (http://www.oprah.com/oprahshow/End-Distracted-Driving). She is passionate about a movement to make the car a No Phone Zone. She has created a campaign where she is urging people, celebrities and you and I alike, to sign a pledge agreeing not to talk/text/email, etc. while driving. It's just not worth it.
I've made my pledge. Will you?
Click on the link to join Oprah's campaign and pledge to make your car a No Phone Zone: http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4
71 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 49 admit to talking on
their phone or texting while driving.You may think you can do it but the truth is, you can't. Our brains were not created to function that way. No matter how competent of a multi-tasker you think you are, these are two activities that absolutely must not be combined. And no, it does not make a difference if you're using a hands free mode. Your brain just can't focus fully on both tasks simultaneously. Talking on the phone while behind the wheel increases risk of an accident by four percent; the same percentage as someone who is driving drunk. Risk doubles to eight percent for those texting/emailing while driving.
"In September 2008, a Los Angeles commuter train conductor missed a red light while sending and receiving more than 40 text messages. His packed train collided head-on with a freight train, injuring 135 people. The conductor and 24 others were killed, making it the second worst commuter train crash in U.S. history."
"Weeks later, a school bus carrying 21 students was rear-ended by an 18-wheel semitruck. The bus was pushed more than 200 feet before bursting into flames. Twenty students escaped, but 13-year-old Margay Schee was killed. The truck driver admitted he had been texting and hadn't seen that the bus was stopped."
Those stories made headlines but there are thousands of people every year affected by things like this. Nearly 500,000 people are injured and 6,000 are killed each year because drivers are talking, texting and emailing behind the wheel. You might think somehow that this will never affect you but the next thing you know your mom, dad, brother, sister, cousin or best friend is one of these people. It isn't just a statistic.
You're probably wondering what the title of this post is all about and what it has to do with any of this. "Mom says not to forget her umbrella." That is the last text sent on my phone. We were at a concert to which my sister brought my mom's umbrella. I was told to remind her not to forget it at the venue. Now, compare that scenario to someone's life. If I had been texting that while driving and got into an accident perhaps killing someone, how would I have felt? It's SO not worth it. NO text message or phone call is worth someone's (or your own) life. It could happen to anybody.
I've made my pledge. Will you?
Click on the link to join Oprah's campaign and pledge to make your car a No Phone Zone: http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment