WHY ARE PEOPLE STILL TEXTING AND DRIVING?
By now, I'm sure you've heard the story of the kid in Texas who crossed the center line hitting a church minibus in a head-on collision in Texas. Sadly, 20 year-old Jack Young killed 13 people because he was texting while driving, and there is only one survivor. Right now that accident is under investigation.
When on the road, it never ceases to amaze me how many people are talking or texting on their phones while driving. I tried it once with a friend's phone in a parking lot, and I couldn't keep my car straight. If you think you have control to take your eyes off the road for just a few seconds, it just isn't true.
According to http://www.romans322.com/texting-while-driving.html, 1590 people have already died from texting while driving from January 1, 2017 through April 7!
Surely we can hear about a new boyfriend/girlfriend once we get home, or you can share the news about the new restaurant you just tried a little later. Is taking our eyes off the road to text or read a message that important? Is it worth your life, or the life of someone else?
Breaks my heart...13 innocent people dying because of a stupid phone!!!
ReplyDeleteJack Young may have survived that accident that he caused but he will have to live with this the rest of his life and he is only 20 years old! So sad~
You're so right Jan! This is a heck of a thing to live with and his life will never be the same. Hugs...
Deleteyou are so right!
ReplyDeleteIt's just a hard situation that could have been avoided. This kid's life will never be the same. Thanks so much for stopping by Christine! Hugs...
Delete"When on the road, it never ceases to amaze me how many people are talking or texting on their phones while driving."
ReplyDeleteIt never ceases to amaze me either.
When driving ignore the phone, use it only when you have safely arrived at your destination.
All the best Jan
Hey Jan - I totally agree. Wait until getting where you're going to use a phone. That saves lives for sure. Happy Sunday!
DeleteSo horrible. My heart breaks for those kids. :( It's amazing to me, too that after all the deaths caused by texting while driving, people are still doing this. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Joy. There are tons of stories on the dangers of texting and driving, yet the message continues to be ignored. So sad! Hugs...
DeleteI know, this is awful. I just don't get it. So many lives destroyed. It is heartbreaking...
ReplyDeleteHey Greg! Glad you stopped by to say hello. So many lives lost, and the sadness that this kid has to live with. Hugs...
DeleteI just don't get it. I know young people now a days think they can do it all at the same time but they can't. They think they're invincible and nothing bad will ever happen to them but that's just not the case. I don't even have a cell phone so texting and driving has never been a problem for me.
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Mary and don't use a cell, but even if I had one, there's no way I'd use it to text if I was driving. Just too dangerous. I think kids do think it will never happen to them, just as you do, but we know that ends. Hugs...
DeleteI don't understand this either! I think we have to start by letting anyone we are driving with know that we are not ok with it and please pull over to have that conversation or let me drive.
ReplyDeleteThat's a really good idea! I definitely need to start doing that for sure! Thanks for sharing! Hugs...
DeleteWoah, I did not hear this story. That's awful. So many lives lost - and I feel bad for the driver too. He's so young. I really wish people would stop it with their phones while driving - I see it all the time and it's a bit frightening!
ReplyDelete-Lauren
p.s. thanks for the comment on my party post! I haven't done one in awhile - not really any reason too at the moment- but I love it, so hopefully in the future!
Hey Lauren, you're really talented. Hope it comes up again soon! Every time I think about what happened to those people, it saddens me. But I do also feel bad for the kid because of his poor judgement. This is a nightmare he's going to have to live with for the rest of his life. Happy Friday! Hugs...
DeleteI believe I read a statistic somewhere that when you're texting and driving, you're 1,000 times more likely to get in a car accident? It's ridiculous. And it's not just texting. People are either checking email, messing with their navigation systems, or thumbs-upping songs on Pandora...that ALL counts as upping your risk for an accident. Someone asked me today why I use Google Maps instead of Waze--because if you're using Waze, you're clicking on things and reading and such. Google Maps does the SAME thing--it builds the Waze traffic info. in and you can set it at home and not touch it again until you get to your destination.
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a horrific statistic that speaks volumes on the dangers of texting for sure! I haven't heard of Waze which sort of sounds too dang complicated. Like you, I'm all for working smarter, not harder, so let Google do the work! Happy Friday!
DeleteSadly people do it with all sorts of things. I've seen them reading the paper while driving, putting on make up, etc. People are crazy.
ReplyDeleteI just don't get it! As much as we readers love to read, I have yet to actually see a person read a novel while driving, right? Happy Good Friday!
DeleteI agree with you 100%. We can't stress this any more than we already have
ReplyDeleteSo sad, Braine. This young man's life is potentially ruined for his lapse in judgement. Happy Friday!
DeleteSuch a sad story. I don't get it either, when you're driving you should focus on the traffic. I know when I was a teenager I sometimes texted when on the bike, but nowadays when I am out and about I prefer to not be distracted at all.
ReplyDeleteAn accident can happen easily if you're attention is somewhere else. I know during my study we had a short note during a course about this and the danger and how even hands free was still dangerous as part of your attention is somewhere else.
You're so right Lola. It literally takes seconds for something to happen on the road. A person could run in front of the car, a bike rider may be beside us, or an accident can happen right in front of us. I'm super afraid and keep my eyes on the road all the time, like you. Happy Friday!
DeleteI think I don't get it because I have lived most of my life without a cell phone and don't see how, unless you are in law enforcement or someone dealing with emergencies that you can't just wait a few minutes until you get where you're going or you can pull off the road and park.
ReplyDeleteBut then again, as others have pointed out, its not just cellphones. Cell phones are just the most prominent. People just flat out need to pay attention to their driving.
Such a sad story, but a good reminder to us all.
I feel just like you do, Sophia. Most people know to reach me on the home phone or via email assuring my undivided attention. I'm seriously afraid to not keep my eyes on the road and won't be doing texting, make-up or looking for something while driving. Just too dangerous. Looking at the damage to those cars is super sad, for sure. Happy Friday!
DeleteIt is so stupid. It is hard to imagine I didn't have a cell phone until I was 26 and texting until much, much later...yet I managed to survive!
ReplyDeleteI'm with you Kim, even though people tell me I'm very old fashioned. Call me on the landline and leave me a voicemail. So what if it has a rotary dial or touch tone buttons, right? (lol)
DeleteI don’t get it either and how awful for all the families of the victims. I have enough trouble driving in traffic let alone texting – I don’t even change the radio station, unless I’m parked up somewhere. :-)
ReplyDeleteHey Barbara, so glad you stopped by to say hello! I agree, there are so many things going on around us that losing focus for just seconds can be tragic. The whole situation is so sad for everyone involved.Hugs...
DeleteIt is scary. They were saying on the news that the dashboards now with all the electronics are right up there with texts as far as causing accidents.
ReplyDeleteThat's interesting, and so sad. I wonder about all this technology at times. Hugs and Happy Saturday!
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