Look Mom, No Hands!

I am posting this because I've noticed it quite a bit in the past few days, and on August 1st Minnesota has declared a "Distraction Free Driving Day".

http://tinyurl.com/lhvqj3

What I have found interesting is that despite the passing of a bill in Minnesota a year ago to ban texting while driving most drivers either don't know or don't care. (Which is worse: ignorance or apathy? I don't know and I don't care... :) ) Talking to people I've found in the slightly older age group- 30+ they are aware of this and realize that it's a bad idea to text while driving. I myself used to do it until it was banned- I'm pretty glad I stopped.

But, the younger folks I talk to (under 25) seem to not care and do it anyway... despite the number of crashes/injuries/fatalities it has caused. A few are surprised that it's illegal in Minnesota, and the rest say "well I just won't get caught." Their primary concern is not crashing the car, it's getting caught.

Hmmm.

I know I don't write too much about safety issues on this blog, but I do think it's one that younger people should be aware of- and not just disregard as something to "not get in trouble over".

Here's an article from WebMD about it as well: http://www.webmd.com/parenting/news/20090505/teens-all-thumbs-when-texting-and-driving

And another one from the New York Times published yesterday: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html?em

Please be safe when you get in your car- don't let an accident prevent you from starting or finishing college!!!