Hey, stop texting while driving … seriously #txtfreeCLT
Posted on 17 Apr 2012 by Ashleigh Farley
How many times have you had to honk the horn at the car in front of you because the light has turned green and they are still sitting there? Or better yet, how many times have you watched a car swerving across the lanes, and when you are able to pass them you see the driver looking down at their phone? Texting while driving not only puts the driver’s life in danger, but everyone else on the road too.
As of March 2012, 35 states & D.C. have bans on texting while driving. 9 States ban drivers from using hand held devices completely while driving. North Carolina introduced the ban in 2009; however, the senseless accidents and deaths haven’t stopped due to the law being in place. Go ahead and Google “texting while driving accidents.” It’s all there, but what does it take to deter someone from texting while driving?
Recently in one of my graduate classes, we had police officers come talk to us about texting while driving. Not only did they show graphic images and statistics that made us gasp, they gave first hand accounts of watching people fly by them on Independence Blvd., going 80 MPH and looking down at the blue screen on their phone, texting away. They told us about the accidents they have arrived at the scene of and the texts that were most recently sent. Was that last text worth it? Could it have waited?
James Watkins killed someone when he was texting and driving. Alex Brown died while texting and driving, her parents have started the Alex Brown Foundation. This YouTube video shows real people who were texting and driving and it cost them their lives. We know it’s not safe to text and drive, we know it distracts us from the road and other cars, so why do we still do it? The unconquerable urge to pick up your phone when it alerts you to a message isn’t worth your life or someone else’s.
Oprah started the No Phone Zone. Subway has W8 2 TXT. AAA Carolinas Foundation for Traffic Safety has You Drive – You Text – You Die. April is National Distracted Driver Month, stop the epidemic and join the movement for no more texting and driving. Parents would much rather have their kids home alive, than to get a text saying they are on their way but never make it because they crash after that text. Make the pledge. Let’s be #txtfreeCLT in April. Let’s be #txtfreeCLT forever.
While you’re at it, stop adjusting the radio. Stop going elbow deep in the McDonald’s bag. Stop talking to the passengers in the car. Stop…
Texting while driving and even walking has become a major problem in the United States. It’s unfortunate that no matter how many statics are shared with the public and no matter how many news stories we hear about people who are injured or killed because of it, the public does not slow down the amount of time texting.
wow, this picture is scary alone. thank you for spreading the word.
For a group project, my colleagues and I created this short video in hopes of convincing drivers to hold off on texting.