"Don't tempt f8 that txt can w8"

“Don’t temp f8 that txt can w8” is the tag line for Oprah Winfrey’s new campaign against cell phone use while driving. I am a faithful Oprah fan, and I religiously watch most shows, thanks to my DVR! Recently, the chaos of my life has prevented me from obtaining my daily dose of “O.” This weekend, I was fortunate enough to catch up on six episodes. I consider myself blessed, since Oprah’s episode about texting and cell phone use while driving was one of the most eye opening, jaw dropping, and life saving episodes I have ever watched.

According to researchers, drivers who text while driving are 8 times more likely to crash and drivers who talk on the phone while driving are 4 times more likely to crash- the same statistic as an intoxicated driver. Interestingly, headsets and blue tooth devices did not decrease the likelihood of crash for drivers talking while driving. The show revealed true stories of innocent people killed as a result of a motorist texting or talking on the phone while driving: children, mothers, best friends, uncles, aunts all victims of this insane obsession.

As I watched the episode, I reflected on my own habits in the car. I constantly use my car as a time to catch up with my family and friends, and I have scared myself many times in near miss accidents as a result of my obsession of talking while driving. Obviously, I either did not have enough “near miss” events, or I am stupid because until watching Oprah’s show I showed no sign of boycotting my cell phone use in my car.

I have lived with the mantra, “I can successfully multitask and talk on the phone while driving, it’s all the other motorists that can’t.” My daily morning commute fuels my fire against “everyone else who has a cell phone in the car problem.” I walk to work, and on average, I wait in a cross walk for at least 10 minutes before a driver recognizes my presence and allows me to cross. You may ask, “why aren’t the drivers stopping for you? After all, it is the law to stop for pedestrians standing in a cross walk. The answer is simple: no one sees me! Every three out of four drivers, on average, is engrossed in a cell phone conversation at seven in the morning- too distracted to see a freezing cold pedestrian patiently waiting to cross the street.

My daily fear is that a distracted driver will smear me to the pavement during my morning commute; however, despite my daily observation drivers distracted by thei cell phones , I continue to join in the fun and chat while driving. Not anymore, as of Saturday February 6, 2010, I took the Oprah pledge and made my car a “NO PHONE ZONE.” I thought about how I would continue to live if I unintentionally killed an innocent person because of something as stupid as talking on the phone while driving, and I couldn't live with the thought. I would never drink and drive, so if they are equally dangerous, why would I continue to talk and drive?

I encourage all of you to sign Oprah’s “NO PHONE ZONE PLEDGE.” Could you imagine taking the life of someone else because of a silly and 100% preventable behavior?
Sign the pledge here: http://www.oprah.com/questionaire/ipledge.html?id=4