The exciting life of the pretend-a-freshman
Think before you text
By Aisha Stern, blogger
April 22, 2008 | 3 p.m.
Sometimes, the mistakes are fixable. You break something, or you get into a fight with your boyfriend (or girlfriend), and you apologize, patch things up and fix your mistake.
But sometimes the mistakes you make aren’t fixable.
My neighbors went out to run an errand early last week and were struck head on by a car that had gone left of center. The impact was so severe that Donna and Ed, my neighbors, both eventually died. She died that day, and he passed away that Friday.
The driver of the car that struck them was 17, and among the various rumors I have heard, the most terrible one is this: she was texting.
Two people died and many people’s lives have been altered forever because this girl allegedly could not wait until she got home to text.
There are many studies on the risks of driving while talking on your cell phone, with ones that continually show how risky it is to drive while using your cell phone. Yet, people still do it.
I'm writing today to ask you to stop. My neighbors would still be here today if the girl who struck their car had been paying attention to the road. Even if something else caused the accident, texting while driving is tremendously stupid. What if next time you do it you hit a deer or a car or a kid that ran out into the street, hoping to catch his runaway baseball?
Of all of the mistakes that we can make as college students, this is one that you can avoid just by putting your phone in your purse or your glove box. So the next time you get in your car and go to text message your friends or parents, stop. It can wait. There are more important things you should be doing.
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