While are country is currently in the Covid - 19 pandemic, our country has been facing another pandemic for far longer; distracted driving. I personally have been in several serious car accidents over the course of my life, most of them the result of reckless and distracted driving. I have been in wrecks where the car I was in was completely totaled; where it was a surprise the injuries weren’t worse. To this day, I have consistent spine and neck issues. I have had professional chiropractors tell me that do to the force of a particular car accident, my neck now slightly curves in the wrong direction and if not fixed I may have to have corrective surgery by the time I am only 40 years old. I am grateful to have only experienced the effects of distracted driving to this degree, while there are so many who have had their lives completely altered, if not taken all together from distracted driving. It is not worth the cost of a life or the trauma of an accident to answer one silly little text. I believe what may feel important in the moment, upon further inspection in hindsight is actually incredibly inconsequential. While the pressure to answer that text, to check that Instagram notification, and look at that email may feel heavy in the moment, in truth it is never worth it. There is no price that would be worth the potential damage and yet me and countless other drivers come dangerously close to paying that price time and time again from distracted driving. Sometimes, some of the habits we deem to be “not a big deal”, are actually the ones that hold the power to the most damage if left unchecked. This is why it is of the upmost importance to be educated and aware of the real risk and costs of unsafe driving. If you don’t know just how severely dangerous something is, you are far more likely to continue doing it. While I am educated and have experienced the toll of distracted driving, that does not excuse me from evaluating my own distracted driving habits like checking my phone and texting while driving. I will ensure that I do my part to stop being a part of the problem, as well as encourage others around me to do the same. We need to take initiative and responsibility to remember that there is a much bigger picture than just driving distracted and countless more lives at stake than we realize. So, while we’re sharing the road, let’s wait to share that post.