Something to Think About. No, Really Think About.

My husband called me today to check on me (I’ve been waaaaay sick with bronchitis, sinusitis, and just plain ickypoohitis).  I’d just finished one of my 12 naps today, because running a fever zaps me of any energy I ever had.  I vowed to do little more complaining about how I felt after he told me some very tragic news, though.  Someone he knows just lost his wife in a car wreck.  She was in the vehicle with their two small sons, when she lost control of the car and went down a bank.  When they found her, they didn’t have to look far to find what caused the wreck. 

Her phone was near her, opened to a text message typed halfway out.  The boys survived, but the vehicle came down on her.

When I got off the phone with him, I grabbed my robe and went stubbling off to my oldest daughter’s room - fueled by mom juice, I wanted to give her a clear cut illustration of the dangers of texting while driving.  She vowed to never respond to a text behind the wheel again.  She said she’d pull over to a parking lot or the nearest Starbucks (She is her mother’s daughter.) instead.  

I wanted to try to get the word out more, so I’ve plopped down here to wag my finger in front of your face.

According to the Washington Post, Virginia is considering a pair of bills that would ban texting while driving. Lawmakers in four other states, including Maryland, are considering similar bans.  I hope the bills pass and that other states would follow.  There’ll be people who moan and groan about the government trying to control them and trying to decide what’s best for them.  What about all of the innocent people these texting drivers endanger?  Someone has to protect them.

Think about it, to text, you have to use your hands and your eyes - taking attention away from where each should be:  Hands on the wheel, eyes on the road.

I hope you’ll have a talk with every driver you know who texts.  Whether it’s a daughter, son, mother, father, brother, sister, sweetheart, or a hip grandparent…..let them know you care about what happens to them and want them to be safe.

If that doesn’t work, tell them if you ever catch them texting behind the wheel, you’ll take away their keys AND their phone. The hip grandparent will put up a fight - but stand firm.

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