Thanksgiving and holiday travels are just around the corner. Frenzied or distracted driving — a major factor in car crashes — could change your life forever!
For many women, the coming holidays make that “to-do list” miles longer! If you’re also a “taxi-mom”, you’re likely to have a higher risk factor for distracted driving.
According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, distracted driving is a leading cause of deadly traffic accidents in the state of Missouri.
“Inattention is a leading cause of traffic crashes,” said Colonel Replogle. “If you’re focused on sending a text message, then you aren’t paying attention to your driving. Cell phone usage — particularly texting while driving can lead to tragic consequences. These consequences are easily preventable if drivers would simply put down their phones and focus on the road.” http://www.mshp.dps.missouri.gov/MSHPWeb/Root/Anti-textingstickerrelease.html
Nationally, more than a quarter of a million people were injured in distracted driving traffic accidents in 2015. Also in 2015 — there were 3,477 motor vehicle fatalities due to distracted drivers, according to the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration.
https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
Even 5 seconds of texting at 55 mph can forever change your life!
These scary statistics sadly don’t seem to matter when our daily lives start rolling along at high speed. So many places to go and people to see!
Nothing will ruin your holiday season quicker than to be responsible for the death or even serious injury of a friend or loved one!
Intentional safe driving takes planning and education, too.
Include these tips on your “to-do list”:
- Turn your cell sound off or on vibrate before starting to drive. Unless you are in the middle of a family emergency, almost any phone call can wait until you are able to pull over.
- Plan B: if possible, use your children or other fellow passengers as a cell-phone answering service. I love it when I see texts from my mom friends that are obviously written by their kids. Misspellings? No punctuation? That’s okay! These make me smile because I know my friend is practicing safe driving techniques!
- Long drive ahead? Plan for cell phone pit stops. Consider it a reward for good cell behavior! That’s right. Just go ahead and schedule time to pull over and check your phone for a few seconds. If you have a worried loved one, they will be happy to know you will be checking your phone every so often!
- Hands-free options? Many modern cars are equipped with bluetooth or other hands-free cell phone technology.
- Resist temptation to check all social media updates while driving, too. Turn off notifications if the urge is too strong. Your friend’s latest Instagram post of tantalizing holiday baking is just not worth that possibly fatal second of distraction. Sadly, our social media addiction sometimes kills.
- Keep your eyes wide open for other distracted drivers! Especially watch for merge areas such as exit and on-ramps. Living in the urban sprawl, we regularly encounter the driver that merges wildly and dangerously into traffic. We do the cell phone check! More often than not, the dangerous driver is on their cell at that moment.
Busy, amazing, multi-tasking ladies — you’ve got this! You can drive to survive and enjoy this holiday season.
Know someone who needs legal help due to being injured in a distracted driver car accident? The experienced car crash attorneys at The Law Offices of Nathan A. Steimel, LLC offer a free initial consultation.
http://steimel-law.com/traffic-matters.html
Don’t try to settle without expert legal help from an experienced car accident attorney! Call 636-244-3737 today!
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