Happy Spring Break!

So we are enjoying our 1st Spring Break back in Texas! Thankfully my new allergy medicine is allowing me to enjoy Spring again! We love having the Daddy of our family home with us! He rocks! Having Brian home means family time, help for me, breaks for me, and boys who are so happy! Yesterday morning at breakfast, Pearson said to Aaron, "Hey Bubba(as they sweetly call each other), Daddy doesn't have to go to work today!" in the most excited voice. To which Aaron replies, "Yeah!" We truly love hanging out all 4 of us! Brian and I still pinch ourselves many times with our boys and say to each other, "Are these amazing children really ours?" We know they are, but we are honestly still so amazed at God's grace to allow us to be their parents!!

So far we have gone to work out(my new favorite thing to do!), I grocery shopped alone, got a haircut alone, and went to the park to feed the ducks. So far it has been an awesome week! More fun to come!

My Challenge: Distracted Driving

One of my sorority sisters from college has an awesome blog called Motherly Law that I love following. A year ago she wrote about distracted driving. I was convicted then to put my phone down and drive, and did well for awhile. But then I got lax and picked it up again. But again this week I have been convicted again. It is a challenge for me and I have taken the challenge to put my phone down and my eyes on the road while driving. My precious cargo in the backseat is too PRECIOUS to me to take a risk for. So you, my followers and friends, can keep me accountable. I have even told Pearson and Aaron about my challenge that Mommy wants to talk less on the phone while driving and focus. Which that includes handing them less things while driving too. I am hoping that they will gently remind me to drive and not talk. To those of you who I talk to often while driving, please be patient with me as I do want to talk to you, but will not until I pull over or stop the car. Whew! A big challenge for me, but so worth it. I have copied and pasted my friend's most recent post with startling statistics about distracted driving. The picture and quote on it really gets me too!

I hope you too will consider this challenge. More eyes on the road for me!

Phone Down; Eyes Up: Distracted Driving Statistics Update & Driver Challenge

Making an Impact

Last March, I wrote the first of several posts that would become some of my most important articles to date. These posts were on distracted driving. Since that time, these articles have been read 100s of times and continue to be read on a daily basis.

The distracted driving posts spurred discussion on my site, on Facebook and Twitter and in conversations I had with people who had read them. I have been told many times "I was going to make {or answer} a phone call while I was driving, but then I remembered your article, and I stopped." That means the world to me to know that something I've written has helped to serve as a reminder, making a positive change.

Distracted Driving by the Numbers

I have just spent the last several weeks preparing for the Distracted Driving Forum in New York by reading about and studying the statistics for distracted driving again. The number of deaths is astounding. The lack of laws concerning using cell phones and texting while driving is surprising. Here are the numbers:

• 5,500 people in the U.S. were killed & almost half a million injured by distracted driving (2009);
• 18% of these fatalities were caused by cell phone usage;
• 8 States have laws prohibiting all drivers from using handheld phones while driving;
• 30 states have laws banning texting while driving;
• 11 state laws were enacted in 2010; and
• 0 is the number of states with laws prohibiting all cell phone use (handheld or hands-free) while driving.

The Key to Change

A Consumer Reports Survey indicates that awareness, education and reminders regarding the hazards of distracted driving do help lower the number of drivers who use their cell phones or engage in other distracting behavior while driving.

The key is to talk about this issue with friends and family; young and old alike. Don't be afraid to take away the phone of the person driving if you are a passenger and the driver won't stop using his or her cell phone for calls or texting. Peer pressure does work; at all ages.

Role Models

Children make good reminders. I have talked about distracted driving and the use of cell phones while driving quite a bit with my Darling Boys. Darling 1 now likes to remind us when we are leaving the house, "Remember no talking or texting while you're driving!" Or while in the car, if the phone rings, "Don't answer the phone unless you pull over!"

It's a great help when your young children are repeating the words of safety that you taught them. We all want to be good role models for our kids. Our actions speak louder than words. DH & I no longer use our phones in the car unless we are sitting in a parking lot or in our driveway, before or after driving to our destinations.

The Challenge

I challenge you to do the same. Put down your phone while driving; put it in your purse or in the glove box or in your pocket. Just make sure it's not accessible to you while you're driving. And talk to your kids about it. Explain the dangers of distracted driving.

My hope is that by providing awareness of this issue at a very young age, driving without distractions will become second nature to our little ones as they grow into teenagers and begin driving. Using phones while driving can stop with the next generation just as using seatbelts became 2^nd nature to those of us in our 30s and 40s who can remember stretching out in the back seat or floor board sleeping with our heads on our parents laps while driving cross country. This seems absurd now. None of us would ever even consider letting our kids "loose" in our cars now, but less than 30 years ago we were "loose" in our parents' vehicles.

Distracted Driving Resources

Here are more resources for educating yourself, your families and absolute strangers:

U.S. Department of Transportation's site dedicated to distracted driving: Distraction.gov

Consumer Reports also has dedicated a page distracted driving, with an emphasis on teens, but parents need to hear it too

State ell Phones and Texting Laws; find your state's laws

Focus Driven also offers sobering information from the stand point of those who lost a loved one or they themselves suffered an injury from distracted driving.

The Scoop

For this campaign to work, it must start with the parents. Please join me in putting the phone down and keeping your eyes on the road. If you are willing to make this change, leave a comment or just your first name, pledging that you too will stop using your phone while driving. And then go tell your kids that you pledged to put the phone down and keep your eyes up. They'll be impressed, and they won't forget.

Tomorrow I will be writing about Ford's SYNC voice command system and a few other products. These systems are intended to make driving less distracting by providing hands-free devices that still enable the driver to stay connected while on the road. But are these products safer or not? Over and out...

Anna

You might also like:

The Distracted Parent: Must Read Tips and Websites for Staying Focused and Driving Safely

Driving to Distraction Part II: Why Using Your Cell Phone While Driving is as Dangerous as Driving Drunk

Old Habits Die Hard: Must Read Tips and Web Sites to Help Break the Habit of Texting While Driving

Driving to Distraction: The Hazards of Texting While Driving and the Laws Restricting This Habit

New Blog Name...

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