Wednesday, 23 January 2013
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Distracted Driving: Are You Risking Your Child's Life?
I was packing my groceries into my car yesterday when a young mother with a small toddler walked by me. She packed her bags into the car next to me, picked up her daughter and put her in the car seat. I noticed that she used the proper procedures for safely securing her child in the seat and gave her a mental thumbs up. I let her back up before me as she had precious cargo and I was in no great hurry. Once I pulled out, I followed her SUV out of the parking lot and watched as she put her cell phone to her ear.
We both pulled out onto a major highway and it seemed we were heading in the same direction. I kept a safe distance from her vehicle and had a good view of her while she continued to talk on her cell phone. I watched as the SUV continuously edged over the line separating two lanes of traffic and then swing back into the original lane. To my horror, I then watched her drive through a red light.
I returned home and wondered what phone call was so important that this young mother would risk her child's life in order to talk on her cell? Curious, the next day when my SO and I were driving down the highway, I counted the number of cars we passed. Out of 50 cars, 27 drivers were holding a cell phone conversation while driving. 12 of these cars had children in them; 10 of those children were in car seats. When I got home, I looked up some of the statistics and was shocked at the number of lives lost due to cell phone use.
Distracted drivers who talk, text, or eat while driving are responsible for 15 deaths and 1200 injuries PER DAY! Unfortunately, some of those statistics include children. Parents are responsible for the safety of their kids and yet, give no thought to picking up that cell phone while driving with their children in the vehicle. Many states have either passed or are in the process of trying to push legislation that would make it illegal to use a cell phone while driving. Sadly, this is happening too slowly and the laws are simply being ignored.
Having been a parent who had to drive with my kids in the car, I know there are other distractions that drivers encounter. Heavy traffic, horns blaring, or having a crying child in the back seat can all contribute to a total lack of concentration on the road. There is always the additional danger presented by pedestrians crossing the road or an animal darting in front of your vehicle. Do we really need to add yet another risk by talking or texting while driving?
What is so hard about turning your phone off or at least silencing it while you drive your precious cargo to your destination? What is more important than your child's safety? And, even if you are alone in the vehicle, do you want to risk hurting another person or their child because you are talking or texting?
So, the next time you are going to drive your child somewhere, please follow safe procedures: secure the child properly, get in the driver's seat and fasten your seat belt, pull out your cell phone and turn it off! Then you have reduced the risk of putting both of your lives in danger!
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- From: crankycaregiver@xanga
- Name: crankycaregiver
- Location: Sarasota, Florida, United States
- About Me: Life, Love and other complications are written about on this site. I usually lean towards the humorous side but have been known to get serious when the mood or subject strikes me.
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Comments (22)
I am so guilty of this. Thanks for posting! I think I will put my cell in the trunk from now on so I couldn't answer a call if I wanted to.
I actually wrote a short rant about this very thing as a facebook status update earlier this week. It scares me to death and infuriates me to no end when I see people talking on their phones, texting/surfing the net/whatever, eating, fiddling with the radio, etc. I don't understand why people think it's okay to take their eyes off the road, their hands off the wheel, and/or let a phone conversation distract them from what they're doing. I get even more upset when I see children in the car, and have even yelled at a friend for texting me while she was driving to my house last year and her 2 year old niece was with her. I never answer my phone or text while I'm driving. If my husband is with me, I'll ask him to answer my phone or deal with my texts, but if I'm alone, my phone stays in my purse the whole time. If I'm expecting an important call, I'll pull over or even pull into a parking lot for a few minutes and take the call. It is illegal in the state I live in to text and drive, and I think it may also be against the law to talk on the phone here as well, but it seems the police officers cruising the streets don't care. In fact, I often see cops fiddling with their car computers while driving.... I feel the only time the offenders get busted is when they've caused an accident due to being on the phone.
this is such an important post to be shared. my boyfriend I were rear-ended by a distracted driver. we were in a sedan, she in an SUV. we were stopped completely and they predicted she was traveling at 40-45mph upon impact. my brand new car was totaled, but thankfully, none of us were severely injured. we were never told why she wasn't paying attention and what was distracting her, but more than likely, it was a cell phone. she was the only one in the vehicle.
Thank you! It makes me SO angry when people text and drive. They always say "I can text without looking" but they have to look to read the text, and they ALWAYS look at the screen. My ex used to speed and text at the same time and I refused to get in a car with him unless he either turned his phone off or put it somewhere where he couldn't reach it. He told me I was over-exaggerating and being stupid but his driving terrified me.
Thank you...thank you...thank you. If everyone did that, the roads would be a much safer place.@LondonsMommy -
When I call someone and they tell me they are driving; I tell them "Hang up and call me back!" I don't want to be the last phone call this person ever takes before they are injured or die in an auto accident! Enforcement of the law against texting and driving are, as you say, difficult to enforce. And, when watching other drivers talking on the cell while driving, I often see an adult in the passenger seat, one who could have taken the call for the driver! @rachmorgan01 -
Thank goodness you were O.K. Just last year, a 16 year old flipped her mom's SUV and the girl died. Her cell phone still had her last text on it..she never got to hit the send button. Thank you for reading.@Love_in_102@xanga -
I can see why he's your Ex. The problem is that many people feel that they can text and drive..they are so much "sharper" than the rest of us. This thinking is what kills adults and children on a daily basis. You are very wise to have refused to get in a vehicle with such a person. Thanks for reading!@daydreams_nightmares@xanga -
Thanks for posting this. I work as a crossing guard on a busy street leading to an elementary school. The worst drivers BY FAR are young moms on cell phones. Every single day. Not only are they endangering their own and their kids' lives, but everyone else's on the road with them.
Thanks for sharing...maybe some of those moms will read this and realize how much danger they are putting their precious cargo in!@Candlesinthebasement@xanga -
My husband and I have noticed that every time there's a really crappy driver on the road, they are talking on their cell. We play the game, "Is that Ass on a cell phone?" 95% of the time, they are. The other 5%, they're just bad drivers or elderly.
Distracted driving happens more than just people on their cell. I am never more distracted then when my kids are in the back, screaming at each other.
I agree..it is hard to keep your eyes on the road when you have a screaming child in the back...might be time to pull over and calm the situation. @Kuai_le1010@xanga -
@crankycaregiver@xanga - I'd be pulling over every 15 minutes some days. My kids are 3 and 4 and are loud whether they are happy or mad. C: "MOMMY, LOOK! IT"S A COW! T: NO, THAT'S NOT A COW! IT'S A DOG. C: NO, IT'S A COW TOO! MOMMY DID YOU SEE THE COW DOG? T: MOMMY, DID YOU SEE THAT MAN? WHY IS THAT MAN THERE? C: HE IS DIRTY. WHY IS HE DIRTY? T: HE'S NOT DIRTY! C: YES HE IS!" It's not so hard to keep my eyes on the road as much as it simply to concentrate.
Totally agree. What communication is worth a life? None. Keep that in mind the next time your phone goes off while you're driving. I used to put my purse in the backseat on the floor in front of the baby whenever I had him in the car (when I was nannying), so there was no possibility of being tempted to reach over and check my phone. When the phone rang one time, I happened to be in a parking lot, so I pulled over and checked to see if it was my employers, and it felt really good calling them back and saying, "sorry, I had to pull over to call you back."
People are so selfish and short-sighted these days, it's almost embarrassing!
Good for you. As you know, here in Florida, driving is challenging. I don't think we need to add to the distractions with a cell phone. @Love_in_102@xanga -
@crankycaregiver@xanga - definitely not, especially down in our areas. I don't know what Sarasota's like with traffic, but it gets really crazy in Temple Terrace, especially during rush hour, and even worse on the nights of the weekend, thanks to all the stupid kids going out to the bars and clubs or wherever else they're busy speeding off to. it's ridiculous, and between rowdy kids in the back seat and a thousand pedestrians out and about who clearly are not paying attention to traffic, cell phones are for sure the last thing we need to add to an already bad combination of distractions. thanks for putting this information out there. hopefully people will start getting the message.
My parents are the worst drivers when it comes to this. Could they make sure they didn't total their car in a blizzard? Yes, they're wonderful like that but they refuse to follow basic laws. I don't think I've ever seen my mom come to a complete stop at a stop sign, and honestly 50% of the time she doesn't even bother to ROLLING stop, she just drives right through. Somehow she's never gotten a ticket or been in an accident, I don't know how.
I live in Canada, and many of our provinces have laws that you can't smoke in the car if there's someone under the age of 18 in the car. I remember I was like 15 when the law was passed, and not once did she even blink smoking with the windows up with me in the car. I'm almost certain I'm going to die of lung cancer from second hand smoke. I asked her why she wouldn't follow the basic laws and she told me if I said anything again I'd never be allowed in her car again, it's her car and she has the right to smoke in it - I don't have the right to ride in it.
The best time, though, was mom driving down the street with me and my friend when we were 16 talking on her cellphone, smoking, with her seatbelt off and drove right through a red light. I was like, "do you even FATHOM how many laws you're breaking?" got kicked out of the car and we had to walk home, haha.
My phone stays in my bag always. If it rings while I'm driving- too bad. They can wait till I get to where I'm going.
@shezadey@xanga - I'm glad. you can call someone back, but you can't undo an accident.
@thatkyliegirlx@xanga - that is so insane! how reckless and irresponsible. I sure hope she never nags you about what you do in your car.
@Love_in_102@xanga - exactly!