Dangers of Distracted Driving
I have lost three friends to drinking and driving. It was a heart breaking incident in my small town where everyone knows everyone. Drinking and driving has always been a problem but most recently that is not the biggest driving mistake that I am seeing on the news. More and more there are adults and teenagers getting in trouble for texting and driving. Many drivers think that they can handle focusing on their phone and on the road at the same time. They think that they can pay attention to both things at once. Unfortunately that is just not the case. I don’t care how good of a driver you are…or how quick of a texter. It is still dangerous and should be avoided at all times. Is there really a text message so important that it is worth your life or the life of others?
Many states have taken a stand on texting and driving. But unfortunately I don’t think they are doing enough. Drinking and driving is outlawed in all states while texting and driving is still legal in a few. Not to mention the complete differences in fines that can be acquired when caught texting and driving vs. drinking and driving.
While I still there there is a long way to go when it comes to state laws on the matter…I also think there is something that can be done NOW….by you! Just don’t do it! No matter if your distraction is drinking, sleep deprivation, texting, or anything else. Driving is a very serious matter and should be given all of your focus at all times! Don’t let your loved ones go through the heart break of losing you because of a simple and avoidable mistake.
Want to learn more on the dangers of drunk driving vs. texting and driving? There is a lot of great information on legal fines, states that have outlawed texting and driving and more!
I can totally relate to this. When I was in high school, a girl got killed by a drunk driver walking home. His car had jumped up on the sidewalk and hit her. I didn’t know her personally but some of my friends did. Also, in 2009, at age 25, my stepbrother died in a car accident after he fell asleep at the wheel. He was less than 2 weeks shy of his 26th birthday. No one else was hurt but if he’d just stayed where he was at a friend’s house or taken a catnap to make himself more alert, he would’ve made it home where he could go to bed. People really need to be more careful, or they may find themselves critically injured or killed, or be responsible for doing this to someone else. Great post.
Oh the losses we have suffered from drunk drivers. My grandmother was killed by a drunk driver and she had my uncle in the car with her. He was just a teenager and was stuck in the car with what was left of her for hours as they tried to extricate him from the car. He eventually committed suicide. I count that as two losses that day. And just last week my husband’s cousin was killed by a drunk driver. A driver who had been sober for 7 years but decided to drink at his daughter’s wedding. Not only was my husband’s cousin killed but now the drunk driver is on suicide watch. I have to feel for him because of his fatal error. So tragic.
The worst thing is when a loved one is killed by a drunk driver and that drunk driver gets 2 years less a day for jail time…
We lost my cousin Billy outside our home on November 13, 1993. The drunk driver went to court and was sentenced in April of 1994. Sadly, while he was spending Christmas with his family and being a resident of a halfway house, we were all still in mourning.
I think it’s time to crack down harder on those drunk drivers who take lives, don’t you?
My daughter is almost at the driving age. I have already told her it’s not only electronic devices that can distract your driving but who is in your vehicle can as well. Great tips!
I’m glad that you are bringing attention to this. Distracted driving is so dangerous and some people don’t take it seriously enough.
It’s makes me so angry when I see people doing this. It’s just a stupid, dangerous, and completely unnecessary thing to do, and they’re endangering everyone on the road.
I never got the point why people need to be doing other things while driving their car. They most I will do is reach out and turn off my radio if the station I choose gets fuzzy. I see all these new cards with built in wifi and other gadgets and I just don’t get it! If anything they just seem like a huge distraction while driving!
New York has strict laws about drinking and driving AND texting and driving. What I want to know is–what would everyone have done if they grew up (like me) when these were not even invented yet! Just keep your eyes in the road–your hands on the wheel and arrive safely!
I think this is going to become a bigger problem as the young ones get their phones. we don’t need to be connected all the time
When I was in middle school, a group of my friends were on a church trip when a drunk driver collided with the church bus. Several of my friends died and the ones who survived suffered terrible injuries. One selfish act of negligence can forever change so many lives.
Whenever I see erratic driving, the first thing I think is that they’re texting. It’s just horribly common.
This is such a big cause of accidents and people don’t realize how dangerous distracted driving can be for everyone. It is dangerous for anyone driving to text, talk on phone, even listening to the radio. Parents need to set examples for their children as well as talking to them about this too. Thanks for sharing.