You’re driving in rush hour traffic. You just have to send your BFF a text message right now to tell her about something. Why wait? It’s not urgent but it’s on your mind now.
Your BFF writes back saying that your message has her LOL. Wait a minute! Where did that car come from? Wow! That was a close call. You almost hit that young boy standing at the corner! Where’s your cell phone? Oh, it fell out of your hand and it’s on the floor on the passenger side. You just have to pick it up right now. Why wait until you come to a stop. Got it! Oh, no! You’ve lost control of the car and it’s headed into oncoming traffic! BAM! CRASH!
Does this scenario sound familiar to you? (If you don’t already know: BFF is a “text” shortcut for “best friend forever” and LOL stands for “laughing out loud.”) Stories have hit the news about school bus drivers and train engineers responsible for multiple deaths in a single incident because they were “texting while driving.” Not every incident where a cell phone is involved hits the news, but deaths caused by people “texting while driving” have risen to an incredible level.
In the 1980s, grass-roots safety campaigns were instrumental in helping to reduce deaths from drunk driving with the increased use of seat belts and other efforts.
Now, in 2010, the U.S. Transportation Department has declared April 30 a day of national observance for “No-Phone Zone Day.” This safety campaign was led by popular television personality, Oprah Winfrey, to encourage drivers to pledge not to chat or text on a cell phone while driving. Participants can pick from three pledge options to affect their driving style: no texting; no texting and no chatting; or no texting and hands-free calling only.
MILTON Mfg. realizes that April 30th has passed, but it is never too late to practice good safety procedures!
Eye-opening facts:
- According to researchers, texting on a cell phone while driving slows the reaction time of the driver more than when he/she is under the influence of alcohol.
- In a university study released last year, it was determined that truckers who text while driving are 23 times more likely to be involved in or nearly involved in a crash.
- President Obama banned federal employees from texting while driving government vehicles. The employees are also banned from texting while driving their own vehicles when using government-issued phones.
- According to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, when drivers text while driving, they take their eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds out of every six seconds. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ron LaHood says that this finding suggests that, at 55 mph, a texting driver actually travels the full length of a football field without directing his attention to the road.
- Secretary LaHood also said drivers of commercial vehicles caught texting while driving could be fined up to $2,750.
For more information, the U.S. Transportation Department has launched a special website at www.distraction.gov, the “official U.S. government website for distracted driving” information. So far, 24 states, including Michigan and the District of Columbia, have joined Oprah’s efforts to support distracted driving legislation.
Here at MILTON MANUFACTURING, we encourage you to practice safe driving habits. Wait until you can pull your vehicle off the road to chat or text safely.
