It all started on a long, dark stretch of highway. I was driving my SUV when I saw some headlights swerve towards my lane. I reacted by moving over a bit while the other driver corrected and moved back into their proper lane. As a new mother, I saw how quickly an action could change my life, my newborn's or my family. That moment changed my life.
My husband and I have noticed lately how inattentive drivers have become, especially with the advent of the cell phone as a "must have" item instead of a convenience. And now, with texting being a popular way of conversation, the roads have become even more dangerous.
Look around one day and see how many people are driving while texting on their cell phones. There is no way these people can be paying attention to the road, traffic and surroundings as they should. They are both risking their lives and the lives of others with every letter typed into their cell phone screen.
I decided to launch a campaign to warn of the dangers of texting while driving. For months, I amassed data, figures and statistics that have been compiled on the subject. For the name, it came to us while noticing these texting and driving people and thinking of how dumb they looked. The site name became youlookdumb.org (aka dontdriveandtext.org) to get people to think of other drivers that are sharing the road with them.
Driving is not a right, it is a privilege. The fact that one careless person that thinks more about what is going on that evening than an innocent person that is on the road with them is a problem I seek to combat. Seven states have banned the use of texting while driving with other states hopefully following suit soon. Each person that stops this dangerous practice and concentrates on driving will aid in making the roads a safer place for all.
In case this gets to someone who texts while driving, 2 things:
it's not that important and you look dumb....