No call is more important then someone’s life!
I recently saw a flyer posted at work that had this typed out:
Then a friend on Facebook posted that her father was hit by a car and he lost his leg and had to go into surgery to save his life. A 17 year old girl was driving @ 40 mph. I have no idea if she was texting, talking or anything else. It just made me realize that in a split second you can change your life or take another.
I’ve made the decision to not be a distracted driver. I am done deceiving myself thinking that I am a better driver then everyone else.
Studies show that:
- Texting is MUCH worse then driving drunk
- Crash risk is 4 times more likely while texting
- Using a hands free is still dangerous
- Both hand-held and hands-free devices increase driver reaction time and are equally as dangerous.
Please do a little research. You can go here, here or here.
What this decision means for me:
- I will not put makeup on while driving
- I will not eat in my car – if on long trips I will stop and eat there
- I will not read email messages or Facebook status updates
- I will program my GPS before I start my vehicle
- I will not reach for something on the passenger floorboard
- I will turn off my phone
- I will keep my phone in my purse out of my reach
I know this will be inconvenient and hard at first. I will adjust and in a few weeks it will be habit and I won’t remember that I did it any other way.
The thought of me being responsible for killing someone or hurting someone so much that their life changes completely is something I don’t think I could live with. Nothing is worth that chance!
So to all my friends who text and call me and need things from me… I will get back to you when I get to my final destination.
Things go through my mind as I make this decision… What if there is an emergency? What if there is a change of plans and I need to drive another several miles to get to where I was going? What if my friend goes into labor? What if, what if, what if! I think of so many things that could happen or go wrong. But I remember 10 years ago I didn’t have a cell phone and I lived.
It’s important to:
- Silence your phone before you begin your drive
- Set up a voice mail message that explains you’re on the road, practicing safety to protect yourself and fellow drivers
- Stop texting while driving. Research shows drivers who text are 8 to 23 times as likely to be involved in a collision
- Pull over and park if a call is absolutely necessary
- Encourage your friends and family to leave their phones out of reach while driving
Driving is a privilege, but it also gives you an enormous amount of responsibility. One that I have decided to take very seriously!
I hope you’ll join me! Now I am off to change my voicemail!
Blessings to you!
That is so good NIcky. I read this thinking, “Geez, I wish so-and-so would do this”… and then realized. Really Leah? You just need to be responsible for yourself… 🙂 So, maybe I need to stop doing some of the same and be a more responsible driver.
Congrats Nicky on making this decision. I am totally with you. I don’t answer my phone while driving. And if it’s an emergency, I tell people that if I don’t answer and its a true emergency call back 2 more times immediately. This will let me know its urgent so then I can safely pull over and tend to the emergency.
Celebrate Life and Capture It!
Patty Reiser
SOAR! Sister
good stuck nick!
Wow Patty! I love that idea!! I am working on changing my voicemail message. I’ll add that!
Wow! I’m inspired by you!! I occasionally dabble in the temptation at returning a text, etc., while driving because I feel that, like you mentioned, I’m the “exceptional” driver but I know this a lie I tell myself. Thanks for the encouragement/reminder to take it more seriously and realize the reality of its consequences.
P.S. I like how you post connections on your site and a little window pops up when my mouse moves over your link to show me a preview of what the site looks like. So cool! 🙂