Last week I was driving our kids and a friend’s son home from camp when a woman rolled through a stop sign while on her mobile phone. Had I not taken another second to pause at the stop sign, she would have barreled into the driver’s side. We were lucky.
Disclosure: I am being compensated by AT&T for my involvement in the It Can Wait 100 Days Campaign. All opinions are my own.
Not everyone is so fortunate to have a second to notice the behaviors of distracted drivers on the road and act accordingly. I could have been in a hurry to get to my destination or distracted by the kids’ conversation (ok, fart noises and burping) in the back seat and this story would have ended differently because of someone’s need to be on the phone while driving.
As a champion of the It Can Wait campaign, it makes me angry to see drivers talking on the phone and looking down at their screens while in the car knowing that consequences can be so grave. I don’t understand how they can be so careless, how they can endanger the lives of others while ignoring the law. What they’re doing is illegal in the DC Metro Area since Maryland and the District of Columbia have prohibited the use of handheld cell phones and Virginia has made texting while driving against the law.
AT&T has added new content to the ItCanWait.com including this very powerful story. I can’t even imagine living with the guilt that plagues this man each and every day.
Don’t let his story become yours. Read the stories on ItCanWait.com, take the pledge to endanger others by texting and picking up your phone while in the car, and get involved to spread the word to keep everyone safe.
Photo courtesy of mrJasonWeaver via Flickr. Logo courtesy of ItCanWait.com
