My Big Idea: Texting Can Wait
During recent speeches to Fleet customers, I’ve ended my talk by urging everyone in the audience to not text and drive. It’s not a typical end to a presentation about GM cars and trucks, but it’s an important message to convey.
As an executive of a team that spends a lot of time on the road, and a father who wants to make a good impression on my kids when I’m in the driver’s seat, it’s so important to me that we put our phones away when we are behind the wheel.
It’s for this reason I have urged my fellow employees, dealers and customers to make the pledge to not text and drive.
The automotive industry, however, is fast-paced and demands so much of our attention. The temptation to reach for our device to shoot off a quick text or email while driving is always present, especially when we are of the belief that nothing bad could possibly happen to us.
But the reality is that bad things do happen.
In 2014, more than 3,000 people were killed, and 431,000 more were injured, in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers.
While distracted driving can be any number of things, text messaging requires drivers to take their eyes off the road and hands off the wheel, so it is, without a doubt, the most demanding of our driving distractions.
Just imagine: The average amount of time your attention is taken away from the road when texting while is five seconds. If you are in a vehicle traveling 55 m.p.h., this equals driving the length of a football field without looking at the road.
Now that seems a lot more harmful, doesn’t it?
I am sure many drivers have texted at one point or another. But next time, think about the consequences behind this simple action. No message is so important that it can’t wait for you to reach your destination or pull over. And of course, always buckle up.
We want everyone to return home safe and sound to their loved ones after a long day at work.
Controller at Pacific Corinthian Yacht Club and Pacific Corinthian Marina
8 年Thank you for your message Ed, so very needed!
Strategic Advisor @ iovox | New Business Development Consultant
8 年Hey Eddie, Your post about not texting while driving certainly resonates with me! Especially since I was a victim of a head-on collision for just that reason. Three months later and I'm still in great pain with no end in sight. As you say...no message is that important it can't wait.
Founder | Architectural Creative Designer
8 年I agree as well... You can never emphasize this point too much! Every day I still see people texting and driving. We can get lost in our own little world sometimes... and then the unthinkable can happen. Sure I look at my phone at at a stop light from time to time, I admit it. But as soon as I start moving, my phone gets put down, and my hands are at 10 and 2.
Catalyst for Growth and Brand Awareness. Develops Effective Teams. Passionate about the nexus of Mobility, Infrastructure, Logistics and Transportation.Former Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs for USDOT
8 年Great Message for Customers and all Drivers. A great Leadership position as well. Thank you for sharing. .
President, Articulate Integrity/Management Consulting Firm/Interim Executive
8 年My husband -- a former general contractor--had undergone 10 spinal surgeries in 4 years due to being hit by a texting driver on CA 101. We've lost so much...time, money, savings, our company. Our kids lives and ours forever altered. Wonder what he was texting?