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Driving While Intexticated

By Barbara Tubridy Lombardi

Des Moines/West Des Moines Parents…..Teenagers Driving while Intexticated

Where are they learning this? Example maybe?

Are you thinking, 'Not my Kid!'……according to Live Science, nearly 60% admit to texting while driving. Now, if you're a parent, you know the statistic is much higher than this. How many kids are going to admit to participating in this, when they know they shouldn't, and you've nagged them not to do it. According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports, distracted drivers account for almost 80% of all crashes and 65% of near-crashes in the United States (April 2006 study) This study did not confine itself to teen drivers, those statistics would have been significantly higher if so. Texting while driving has been shown to be as dangerous as driving while drunk!

Is the text message you are sending or receiving really that important to look at while driving a 2-ton death machine? Human error causes far more damage and kills more people than technical failures.

SADD and Liberty Mutual have provided guidelines for families for teen driving which included preventing cell phone use in the car. Teens report that the biggest influence on how they drive is their parents. Almost 2/3 of high school teens report their parents talk on the cell phone while driving, ½ report that their parents speed, and almost 1/3 say their parents don't wear a seat belt. What are you parents thinking? Not only are you risking your life, your children's and passengers lives, others on the road, but you are a perfect example of WHAT NOT TO DO!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=azg4Wv-lHFM

Today (June 24, 2009) I was driving to work and was at a traffic light (Ashworth and S. 50th) while a car was stopped turning right. There were no cars coming from the left, yet the car sat there. I looked and noticed the driver's head was down. He finally turned right and we were stopped next to each other at the next red light. Next to me in a navy blue Malibu was a teenage boy still looking at his cell phone, texting. He must have felt my eyes boring a hole in his skull because he looked up. I motioned to him and mouthed, 'get off the cell phone'. When the light turned green, he took off like a rocket. Probably to get away from me, the crazy lady who might catch up with him again at the next light. Maybe I saved his or someone else's life today. I'll never know but parents, talk to your kids about texting and distracted driving.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Barbara Tubridy Lombardi

Full post as published by Des Moines Personal Injury Lawyer on June 24, 2009 (boomark / email).