My PSA

Oprah. She irks me. A lot. Even when she is right.

That lady bothers me. I think she has over stepped her talk show boundaries a million times over. Everything from her "ta-da" voice to campaign hopping for Obama has just rubbed me the wrong way.

So it almost pains me to say this but I think she is on to something with her latest save-the-world endeavor.


Of course if I were in charge, my PSA would be more like this


I digress. Point is that I think texting while driving is EXTREMELY dangerous. I'm constantly yelling at people who I see texting while behind the wheel. (And people who don't use their turn signal. Another issue in itself...)

These are people driving 60+ miles an hour on the interstates that I travel to work. Their automobiles are in motion and their focus is somewhere else. Their head is pointed downward, eyes not on the road.

I admit that I talk on the phone in the car all. the. time. But you will never find me texting when I'm driving. I may change the radio station or adjust my mirrors. I might even apply chapstick but I never text. Never.

My teen puts his phone in the glove box when he drives. It was a rule we implemented when he started driving two years ago. For his safety and for our peace of mind. It's distracting for a seasoned driver like myself so it's ten times worse for a young driver like him and we didn't want him to be tempted.

I know people that have been in accidents because of texting. Because that joke, that picture, that "hey what's up?" was more important than their safety and those around them.

A National Safety Council study revealed 28 percent of car accidents are caused by people who sent text messages while driving.

The NHTSA states that drivers who use cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash resulting in injuries. In fact, a driver on a phone exhibits slower reaction times and greater impairment than a driver who has a blood alcohol level of .08 percent.

Approximately 200,000 accidents are caused by text messaging drivers. Every year, these accidents kill more than 2,500 people.

It's not worth it people. It's just not.

Sign the evil one's Oprah's No Phone Zone Pledge and keep the roads safer for us all.