May 29, 2006
June 18, 2006
Dec. 20, 2006
March 18, 2007
April 26, 2007
June 28, 2007
Aug. 13, 2007
Jan. 3, 2008
Aug. 6, 2008
Nov. 20, 2008
These dates all have something in common. They’re etched on tombstones, marking the end of a life simply because another driver decided that one text message or phone call couldn’t wait.
I’m writing this because I don’t think that we’re getting it. I don’t think that teenagers and adults who text and drive are aware of what is going on…what is at stake. I’ve asked people why they text and drive, and here are the typical responses:
“I’m a really good texter. I don’t even have to look at my phone.”
“I’ve been driving for a long time, I can handle talking on a cell phone.”
“Five seconds is not going to matter, especially if there’s no one else on the road.”
But say those five seconds do matter. Say you crash and hit a two-year-old girl and her mother. Killing the two year old. What if you had to live with knowing that this little girl was lying lifeless in the middle of the street with her mother watching her take her last breaths and the only reason is because you just had to send that text message? Are you willing to carry that with you the rest of your life?
Maybe you’re really stubborn and still don’t think it matters. What if that two year old was your little brother or sister and they lay in a casket right now because of someone who couldn’t put down the cell phone? And you just keep thinking to yourself…’He’d still be with me if only they would have put the phone down. None of this pain would have happened if they wouldn’t have sent that text.’ Is that text still worth it now?
The misconception with people who text and drive is that they think they’re invincible. You’re not invincible; you’re delusional to think that you can send text messages while driving and it not matter. 19 year old Kaitlyn Dunaway thought she’d be okay to send one text message. And then she killed that two-year-old girl.
Texting and driving is selfish. There is nothing important enough to risk stealing someone else’s life. Pull over if you have to send a text. If for no one else, have the decency to put the phone away for the little girl in the next car. For the mother in the next lane. For the best friend in your passenger seat. For your little brother. For the man walking down the street. For my sister. By texting and driving you endanger everyone, not just yourself. Learn from Kaitlyn’s mistake.
It takes about five seconds to send a text message, but it only takes one second to change your life forever. For Kaitlyn it took those five seconds with her eyes down to open her eyes forever to the dangers of texting and driving. And her life along with the family of the little girl’s life will never be the same because of it. All I can do is hope that the 30 seconds you spent reading this article will open your eyes to the dangers of texting and driving, so that five seconds sending a text message won’t have to.