There isn’t much of a difference between drinking & driving and texting & driving, both are deemed dangerous and have been known to be fatal. Numerous studies have shown that talking or texting on a cell phone has the same effect on your driving ability as drinking. While many states have adopted the law restricting cell phone usage during driving, the problem still continues to exist. According to the National Safety Council, an estimated 1.6 million crashes occur each year from drivers using cell phones and/or texting.
The best solution to the problem is to have self-discipline and leave the phone alone while driving. There are so many hands-free solutions that are available that there is no reason for anyone to have to handle a cell phone while in the car. If you’re guilty of having been known to text or talk on your cell phone while driving, consider the fact that you’re not only putting yourself at risk, it’s your passenger(s) and other motor vehicles on the road as well.
So, I challenge each and every one of you to take the pledge “Don’t Text and Drive”. You can take the challenge by clicking on this link to the Safe Texting Campaign. Also, on the site, you will be able to download a SafeTexting App for both the Blackberry and Android phone (app for iPhone will be available shortly). These apps use GPS technology and when your driving speed exceeds 10 miles per hour, the application will shut off the texting feature as well as eliminate all incoming and outgoing calls (emergency calls are allowed) while the car is in motion. The application will deactivate once the car has been stopped over a period of time. Note to parents of young drivers, this is especially handy if you want to limit or eliminate your teen’s access to the cell phone while driving. There is a parental password protected feature included in the app so that it cannot be turned off unless you sign in the application on the phone and turn it off.
Take the pledge and be safe. Don’t text and drive.
Here at Donald J. Medeiros Insurance Agency our goal is to try to help our viewers by suggesting solutions for all insurance needs. By no means can we address each reader’s specific concerns in every incident. So, we strongly advise to check with an insurance representative to address your specific needs. However, you can also contact us for any questions or concerns and we will be happy to help you. We are able to offer a complete line of personal & commercial insurance products for all of Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire.
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