Drive, or text, not both!

Not all cartoons are funny. Some hit you right between the eyes like a swift left hook.

I'm talking about the cartoon on my desk calendar that greeted me Tuesday. It's the work of Alex Gregory, originally published March 3, 2008, in The New Yorker. It shows a business-suited customer wearing a Bluetooth headset and holding a smart phone that looks like a BlackBerry model of a couple years ago. The man is standing at a counter with several other phones on display, and he's telling the man behind the counter: "This one's too hard to type on while I'm driving."

Here's a link to see it for yourself:
http://bit.ly/9limq0

If you can relate to the texting-while-driving scene, you're not alone. A recent study by the Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project found that adults are slightly more likely to text and drive than are teens. The study found 27 percent of adults reported sending texts while behind the wheel and 26 percent of those 16 and 17 years old said they did the same.

The study also found that adults talk more than teens on their mobile phones while driving: 61 percent of adults said they talk and drive while 43 percent of teens said they did so. Also, 49 percent of adults say they've been passengers in a vehicle when the driver was reading or sending text messages. The really scary finding is that 17 percent of adults with mobile phones say they've been so distracted by texting, talking or using their phones in other ways that they have bumped into something or someone.

You can see more about and download the Pew study here:
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Cell-Phone-Distractions.aspx

National Public Radio today broadcast a story about new distracted driving laws in six states, with a focus on Georgia. The story states: "The U.S. Department of Transportation reports that in 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in accidents related to distracted driving and 500,000 others were injured."

Listen to the story: http://n.pr/dj1UOY

I've been guilty of trying to use a keypad while moving down the road in the past, but no more. I have sworn to myself not to text while behind the wheel of a moving vehicle ever again. I also don't hold my phone and talk while driving, but I admit to using a hands-free device. I do try to limit my talk time, and I should just turn the phone off while the wheels are rolling, but haven't taken that step yet.

I think I'll start right now, by pledging to not make calls or answer my mobile phone while operating a vehicle. If I need to talk to someone, I'll pull over and stop in a safe place for the duration of the call. If you call, leave a message, because I won't be answering.

I ask you to make the same pledge. Maybe that cartoon will be funnier sometime in the future — when the behavior is a thing of the past.