Today as I was driving home from preschool pickup, I sat at a red light waiting to turn left while a lady driving an SUV passed me going in the opposite direction. She had just gone through a 4-way red light intersection and guess what? As she passed by me, she was looking down at the cell phone she held in her left hand as she drove with her right.
I don’t know this lady at all, but she was middle-aged, overweight, and certainly didn’t look like she had cat-like reflexes. My guess is if I threw a ball at her WHILE she was looking, she probably couldn’t catch it.
So who the heck does she think she is looking down at her cell phone while she’s supposed to be driving?! While she’s going through an intersection, no less! And while she passes by my car full of children I love more than anything on this earth?!!!!!
Come on!!!
I know, I know, cat-like reflexes are beside the point. Who cares if you have great reaction time in an emergency if you’re not even looking when the time comes? I am certainly not the poster-child for distraction-free driving. I’ve done my fair share of checking texts while sitting at red lights or calling my sister while driving down the road.
But I never, EVER, read my phone WHILE driving and I welcome the day when all cell phone use is banned while driving. In fact, I don’t know why insurance companies haven’t caught onto this and started rewarding drivers who prove they don’t use their cell phones in the car. There’s gotta be an app that can track that, right?
I’m sure that lady was as nice as can be in person. People can just be so ignorant. I bet she would be beside herself with guilt if she actually killed a child due to her poor driving habits. But if she had ever driven on that road before, she should know that she was about 1/4 mile from three neighborhood entrances where children are constantly crossing the road after getting off the school bus. And there are teenagers who walk along the main road to go to their friends homes.
I hope that lady didn’t encounter any of those kids today. I also hope nobody stopped suddenly in front of her. She was in a large SUV. I shudder to think what could happen if she rear-ended a minivan with little ones in the back seat. 🙁
So in order to spread awareness of the danger of distracted driving, I am supporting a new initiative in my state. It’s called #Brake4Buses. It’s a campaign to raise awareness about the fact that thousands of people each year run the stop signs that school buses hold out when children are getting off the bus. I’m posting it on my blog instead of just my Facebook page because this is not just a state-wide issue. It’s a national issue.
This PSA will make your heart skip a beat.
I’ve seen distracted drivers in my area run these school bus signs while driving distracted, just like this lady was doing today. My kids don’t ride the bus because I drive them to and from school, but I am concerned for all the children who do.
We are responsible for keeping our little ones safe. Let’s band together to put an end to senseless driving disasters!
Comment below with your pledge! And share this post on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, or wherever you’d like. Let’s spread awareness of this important child safety issue.
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