Distracted drivers are heading towards epidemic numbers as they disregard the public’s safety as well as their own.
It is not only unnecessary, but dangerous to operate a vehicle while using a cellphone. Is that text or phone call more important than someone’s life?
One or two seconds of distraction can put another person in the hospital or morgue. The aftershocks of such a loss affect so many people, like ripples in a pond. That person’s spouse, family members, coworkers, teammates, members of their church and affiliated groups all would suffer from the loss. That person may be a pregnant woman, elderly senior whose movements may be lot slower than others. It may be a young child who suddenly crosses the road or an important service member attending an accident.
If you are behind the wheel driving while texting/talking on your cellphone you may be in the crosshairs of another distracted driver. What or who will you be leaving behind? Maybe you have a new baby, house or elderly parents who will be relying on you for their future decisions. Are you going to miss your child’s graduation, marriage, maybe your first grandchild’s birth? Maybe those Indy 500 tickets you finally won or shares in the lottery with your coworkers.
It is totally ignorant and selfish to continue driving around nonchalantly using your cell phone when other people’s lives are at stake. What will it take to get through these narrow minded individuals who think it doesn’t matter or concern them? I wish we could publish their picture in the paper or on billboards showing their friends and family what they were caught doing, before we have to see their picture in the obituaries.
Distracted drivers also endanger work crews on roads and highways throughout this province on a daily basis. Many traffic control persons stand in harm’s way to keep their crews safe.
Do we have to lose our life just because you just have to answer that text? I see many so called professional drivers who continue to operate large vehicles oblivious to what’s right around the corner. That’s me, standing out there trying to keep someone safe, in the crosshairs of a distracted driver. One second, two seconds …
Barbara Hanuszak
Penticton