At&T
AT&T has done a great job with it's It Can Wait campaign. I feel like there is actual momentum regarding texting and driving. Of course there is so much more going unsaid but I'm happy at least this campaign seems to be reaching the masses.
Hear this young man's compelling story. He was a passenger when the driver he was with slammed the car into a tree going 120, all because she chose to read a text.
http://youtu.be/9pKRKUOk3Eo
Today I had my kids color in free, printable pages I downloaded from AT&T's site.
They read "No Text On Board"
I taped them into the inside of my car.
Hoping someone will see and think twice. You are probably thinking, yeah right lady. Before you leave this page, hear me out.
Car crashes are the leading cause of death to people under the age of 12.
A lot of fatal car crashes are avoidable. That is what drives me mad. But that fact drives me. And it is a fact.
Adults are now texting and driving more then teenagers. What a pathetic statistic.
Look around you when you are at stop signs. People have their heads down, looking at their phones. They are probably talking or texting to people they like or perhaps love. They risk not only their own life but yours and others as well.
April is Distracted Awareness Month.
You should care.
Around 110 Americans die in car crashes every single day. And what pisses me off is that a lot of these crashes don't need to happen. They are not accidents. When you are given a diagnosis of cancer the majority seek treatment. Why are we Americans driving around pretending that "accidents" just happen and there's nothing to do to avoid them but buy a safer car? That's the big fat lie we are living by. When we are sick we take care of ourselves. We need to take care of ourselves by driving safely.
I'm talking to as many people as I can now about the dangers of texting, talking and using hands free while driving. It is not safe. Please help us spread the word.
I had printed out on the table a page that had information about a little 9 year-old girl who was run over by someone texting and driving. My 6 1/2 year-old asked who she was. I hesitated and then said, she was a little girl who got run over by and adult texting and driving and she died.
My son was quiet.
A few minutes later I heard him ask my nanny, "Where is this little girl?" My awesome nanny explained that the girl went before her time.
We talk to our kids about danger. The dangers of pools, guns, strangers. We need to talk to them about the danger of cars. But we need to stop being the danger.
We have to start driving with more care for one another.
Because who wants to die in a freaking car crash? Speeding and zipping through lanes just to get somewhere 10 minutes before others is senseless. Especially if you never get there.
There is so much that can be done so I hope you can do something in honor of Distracted Driving month for all of the people who have died in car crashes.
And in the last 10 years alone that number is over 1/2 million, in America alone.
Where are the ribbons for that cause?
Last night I held a very informal meeting at my home for residents who were interested in making our streets safer to walk.
Only one person showed.
BUT...we started something. We talked about great ideas and our in the plans to petition our city for sidewalks on our block. We talked about wanting to know each other better and be more social but how we can't because our neighborhood feels so unsafe to walk.
We talked about the parents and people we saw driving through our neighborhood on their phones.
Next meeting I'm betting I get two neighbors. If that's progress, I'll take it.
If you are interested in doing the same thing please do!!
I have seen so many acts of disrespect for human life on the road.
I am sure you are seeing it too.
Don't join the masses. Refuse to answer or look at your phone while driving.
Texting and driving is so cliche I'm really surprised people still do it honestly. Do you want your legacy to possibly that of someone who killed someone because you were texting? Eh. Really?
April is Distracted Awareness month and I am making a change. No more talking on my phone AT ALL when driving.
I hope you can join me and convince others to do the same.
I will be putting this No Text on Board by ATT on my car for April.
You can download it if you click here and look under "Spread The Word" "Download Kit." Your kids can color it.
I'm becoming convinced that we will see a major change in the way we look at driving and our role in the deaths that come from it in the next 20 years. Be a part of the revolution baby. I'm actually holding a get together tomorrow at my house for locals who are interested in making our community safer.
The more I talk about this with people the more they agree and I feel less like a worry wart. People are tired of feeling unsafe on the streets.
I really applaud AT&T's effort to impact texting and driving. My mother in law sent me the link to this documentary they made.
http://youtu.be/DebhWD6ljZs