Put It Down

During my first semester of college, I had an emotional support animal named Trico. While I attended classes, Trico would play at a daycare that was a few miles of campus. Every other day I would drive her there once in the morning and once at night. One rainy evening, I was on my way to pick her up, when tragedy struck. I was in a hurry, as I had a test in a couple of hours, and I did not want to get caught in the rush hour traffic. However, before I could even get into town, a truck a couple cars up came to a screeching halt in the middle of an intersection for no apparent reason. The car in front of me, along with myself, was able to stop in time and not hit anyone. However, the woman driving a large SUV behind me was not as vigilant. She ended up plowing into me, sending me into a ditch, and totalling my car. I suffered a concussion and a broken nose from the event, as the impact of her car caused my head to slam into my steering wheel. It turned out that the woman had been on her phone – texting while driving – not only when it was raining out, but with her two children in the car. I suffered injuries, missed my test, and lost my car all in one night, all because the woman behind me couldn’t wait to message someone back. Texting while driving is not an issue to be taken lightly. There is no “I can do two things at once” or “I’m really careful”. Put your phone on silent, or even put it away entirely. There are settings and apps you can use that will alert your contacts that you are driving if anyone messages you. And if it is absolutely necessary to respond immediately – pull over. No text, call, email, image, or song is worth the safety of yourself and everyone around you. Using your phone while driving is dangerous. Not only to yourself, but to the passengers of your car, and the other drivers on the road. There is already so much that can distract you on the road, your cell phone should not be one of them.