After putting in over three hours of strenuous physical labor on my front-yard landscaping project, I packed up my tools and plopped down on the couch to catch the last half an hour of Oprah. Today’s show was about the dangers of distracted driving; driving while talking on the cell phone or texting.
While I’ve always drawn the line at texting while driving, I have been guilty of taking a peek at incoming texts while driving. And although I try to avoid it these days, I do occasionally talk on my cell phone while I drive — sometimes holding the phone to my ear, sometimes while on speaker phone, rarely while using a hand-free attachment.
What makes me feel most guilty about my cell phone use while driving is that I’ve long been aware of scientific research proving that cell phone conversations use a different part of the brain than do live in-the-car conversations and that even hands-free cell phone conversations are distracting and dangerous. I knew this; I believed this. Still, I talked on my cell phone — except for when The Son was in the car. He was aware of the research, too, and nagged and generally made my life miserable if I tried to talk on the phone while he was in the car. And that was before he went through driver’s ed!
After watching Oprah today, I’ve decided to see the error of my ways. I pledge to stop using my cell phone altogether while operating a vehicle. I will keep my cell phone in my pocket or my purse to help me avoid temptation.
If the social and moral implications aren’t enough to keep you off your phone while you drive, think about the financial implications. Your chances of being involved in an accident are 4 times higher if you talk on your cell phone while driving (about the same as if you were driving drunk). If you’re texting while driving, you’re 8 times more likely to be involved in an accident. In the best of cases, the financial implications of cell phone-related accident would involve an insurance co-pay and/or increased insurance premiums. That’s in the very best of circumstances. Worst case scenarios would include leaving your family without a source of income due to death or incarceration. Or facing an expensive lawsuit.
I will tell you, it took me about 3 seconds to decide that I couldn’t imagine any type of phone call or text message worth the potential risks.
Don’t tempt f8; that text can w8.
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2 Comments
I was recently chided by my significant other for getting into the car and proceeding to make a call as I backed out of my parking space! I agree with you and make the same pledge. There is no call that is so important to take such risks. Thanks for reminding all of us about this!
@ Carol,
You’re welcome. Last night The Daughter and The Husband were making fun of me — not for deciding to make the car a “No Phone Zone” but for doing so because of Oprah. My argument was it doesn’t matter which particular straw breaks the proverbial camel’s back or which sad tale it is that makes you a convert. What matters is that we finally fit that last piece into the puzzle and say, “Okay; Enough; I’m convinced and I’m not going to do it any more.”