Being part of the first generation of texters, I seem to know all of the ins and outs of the phenomenon. Even though I am not a licensed driver yet, I am still fully aware of all of the dangers of “texting behind the wheel.” Being the passenger of many of my friends who are all starting to get their licenses, it makes me nervous when they even look at their phone for a split second, knowing anything can happen as soon as they take their eyes off of the road. A problem we have that applies to other various aspects of life is that we always seem to take on more responsibility than we can handle. We may think that we are able to multitask while driving, but it really is way too distracting. The road needs to be your one and only focus behind the wheel.
Pedestrians, street signs, buildings, stores and other vehicles around you are enough of a distraction, without adding your cell phone to the mix. One may think they are being “cool” because they can text while driving, but how cool are you, buddy, when you and your friends get in a fatal crash because you were texting?
When someone as popular and well known as Oprah Winfrey is saying to not text behind the wheel, then I, for one, immediately open my eyes and ears and listen in on what she has to say. Oprah is calling texting while driving our new deadly obsession, literally. If you are texting while driving, you are putting your own life at risk, as well as your passengers’ lives and the lives of the people in the cars around you. So many people of all ages are being killed each year from the consequences of texting while driving. Oprah is trying to get people to take her No Phone Zone Pledge to not text while driving. Hopefully this will motivate people to take the pledge—and to be safer drivers.
Among many of the gadgets we use today are various Bluetooth or “hands-free” cell phone devices. Too many people think that these devices are 100 percent safer than actually holding your cell phone—WRONG! Studies show that these hands-free devices can be just as distracting as holding the cell phone itself; you are still being distracted by talking and engaging in another thing other than the road.
So the next time you are driving and you go to pick up your phone, stop and think for a minute: Is this text (or phone call) really life or death? And if you are a passenger, make sure you tell your driver to not use their phone at any time while you are in the car…and even when you are not! Taking a minute out of your day to participate in Oprah’s No Phone Zone Pledge could end up adding years to your life!
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