Please Don't Text, Talk, and E-Mail While Driving

I watched a television program on the horrific effects of texting and talking on cell phones when driving. It is a terrible distraction that has increased the senseless deaths of countless lives. According to one source, the effects of these actions are 80% worse than driving while under the influence of alcohol and / or drugs. Nearly 500,000 people are injured and 6,000 are killed each year because drivers are talking, texting, and e-mailing behind the wheel. "I witnessed a neighbor who pulled out of his driveway without looking, stopped in front of me for a long period of time, drove on the wrong side of the road, and crashed a stop sign while talking on a cell phone. Fortunately, no cars were coming from the other direction. I know that cell phones have become a part of everyday life and that many use them as part of their business, but can’t these calls be completed in parking lots, coffee shops, and restaurants before driving off to your next appointment? We are talking about people’s lives – children, parents, brothers, sisters, and friends. Once you have lost someone to such a tragedy, your life is never the same. And, to have been the reason for a lost life is an unbearable burden to live with. So please text and talk on cell phones before and after you hit the road – not while driving. The life you save may be that of someone you love, or your own.