Nothing to LOL About




I was really surprised to learn today that one of my coworkers things that "people are making too big a deal out of texting and driving."

Everyday I'm out there on Houston roads, and let me tell you, they suck at driving! Throw a phone into the mix and FORGET ABOUT IT.

I am constantly hearing about accidents and vehicle deaths. And texting while driving is not something I take lightly.

My coworker was like..."well some people are better at it." To which I responded..."yeah, you think you're good at it, until you're not, and you find yourself on the side of the road with a totaled car."

It really scares me to think that there are naive people out there that think this isn't a big deal. It's not just a big deal, it's an epidemic! Believe it or not, humans are not good multitaskers...go Google it! And when you're driving a 4,000 lb. weapon, you sure as hell better not try to be multitasking.

Taking your eyes off the road, or your hands off the wheel, is dangerous; period. Avoid dangerous behavior = safer roads = less accidents. It's common sense people! Cut the damn umbilical cord to your devices!

Still think texting and driving is no big deal? Why do you think they're passing laws about it?

Here are some sobering statistics:
  • Texting while driving makes you 23x more likely to wreck
  • Answering a text while driving takes your attention away for atleast five seconds. That's enough time to travel the entire length of a football field
  • Texting while driving causes 1.6 million accidents per year (Natn'l Safety Council) and 330,000 injuries per year (Harvard Center for Risk Analysis)
  • According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety - Texting while driving kills an average of 11 teens each day. That's 77 young people, full of potential, dying each week
    (One response I heard was... "well...that's not that many" WTF ARE YOU KIDDING?
  • 13% of 18 - 20 year old drivers in car wrecks admitted to texting at the time of the crash
  • 46% of drivers under 18 admitted to texting while driving. Feel safe on those roads?
  • 30% of drivers 18-64 admitted to driving while texting
  • Texting while driving makes you SIX TIMES MORE LIKELY to cause an accident than driving intoxicated.
  • It slows your brake reaction speed by 18% (Human Factors & Ergonomics Society)
  • Leads to a 400% increase of time with eyes off the road
What if one of those people killed each week...was your best friend? Your sister? Your neighbor? What if you were one of the people that accidentally killed someone? Do you think it would be worth reading or sending whatever text you were preoccupied with?

How many people have to die before this issue is taken seriously?

Ways you can make a difference: stop doing it, talk to your teens or your friends about not doing it,  re-blog this post, tweet about it, start a discussion, vote for laws that prohibit this dangerous practice.


 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

RAWK Holiday Art Show

Image
Do you live in Houston? Do you enjoy looking at beautiful artwork, having a fun date night with your honey bun, meeting new people, having fun and supporting the hopes and dreams of this artist right here? Than come to the RAWK Holiday show, featuring yours truly! Tickets are only $15, and you're in no way obligated to buy anything. You can just come and have a blast if you want! I'm thrilled that I was scouted through my Etsy shop and made a featured artist in this show. It's such a fantastic opportunity as an artist, and an awesome belated birthday gift for me. So if you're able to come, I'd be thrilled to see your smiling face there on December 11 at Stereo Live in Houston. You're support means so much to me, even simply buying a ticket if you're not able to come would help me out a ton. To buy tickets go here:  http://www.rawartists.org/lizrector Thank you to all my friends and family who have encouraged my artistic development through the year...
Read more

Things You May Need to Hear

Image
There is a good chance that you need to hear at least one of these things at this moment or throughout the new year: 1. Stop looking at your anger or anxiety as a wall you keep running into. Instead, look closely at the bricks that make up the wall. Attack the wall one brick at a time and watch the wall disappear. 2. Fear is an illusion. When anxiety strikes, you have to lean into it to get out of it. 3. You are where you need to be. Even if you feel stuck, even if you hate it, even if you don't understand it - stop trying to escape, and start asking yourself what you can learn from this. 4. People who don't have a clear sense of their own identity latch on to others. They turn their insecurity into gossip, their anxiety into manipulation, their inferiority complex into sabotage. Remember that you are a separate organism and that you can choose to either let their toxins in, or keep them out. Don't take on others' baggage before unpacking your own. If you ca...
Read more

Analysis of Gerrit Dou's "Dentist by Candlelight" by Liz Rector '09

Image
The piece I have chosen to analyze is Gerrit Dou’s Dentist by Candlelight. A Dutch painter from the 1600’s, Dou began this piece that explores everyday life in 1660 and completed it in 1665. Painted with oil on oak panel (14x10 in.), the piece, which is mostly bathed in blacks and grays, has an eerie lure to it. Entrapped on the oak is a man with his mouth agape, sitting in a wooden chair, wearing a distinct look of anticipating agony. The man looks to the ceiling, where his eyes are met with an alligator hanging from the ceiling; the alligator’s mouth agape as well, with its underbelly aglow. The dentist holds a single candle to the man’s face with one hand, and with the other holds back the patient’s forehead. A concerned wife stands before the man, holding his hand, which is securely fastened to the arm of the chair. The viewer anticipates action, as the scene seems ready to unfold at any moment. The three people in this situation form a sort of circle through their lit facades and ...
Read more