# Don't Tempt Fate... that phone call can wait... take the pledge.



## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

OK, anyone who knows me knows that this is extremely difficult for me to do... but my Jeep is now officially a NO PHONE ZONE! Yes, I watched Oprah yesterday, like millions of others and have taken the pledge. Six thousand Americans died last year because of cell phones/texting distractions (called distracted driving) I do not want to


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kill


 anyone, and certainly I knew it was not 100% safe to talk and drive but always thought I was good at it...  Stupid thought!

The mother of a nine year old girl was on the show... her girl was


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killed


 within 30 seconds of her driveway by a lady who did not see her because she was engrossed in conversation. Another grandmother (61) was


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killed


 only 30 seconds after the man driving the other car started his phone conversation, he'd only been on the street driving for about a minute and ran a red light. There was also a 19 year old young man who had


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killed


 two husbands/fathers while he was texting... this was only a few stories... I do NOT want to add to the statistics so I took the pledge and started today... I pray others also take it. Just wondering how many of you also decided to do this?


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## sem (Oct 27, 2008)

Didn't see the show. It is illegal in CA but I see lots not complying. I never text in the car or out and my phone goes to voice mail when  I am driving. There is nothing so important that it can't wait for a few minutes until it is safe to take the message.

I am old enough to remember pre-cell phones and life seemed to go on. I don't always answer my cell phone even when I am not driving. I put it on vibrate when I am busy and check caller ID. I really think that we are too connected these days. I have a right to down time and I chose to take it!


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## Anju  (Nov 8, 2008)

We don't have a car, and I barely know how to use the cell phone, but I get upset and nervous when I am in a car where people, even passengers, are using the phones.  That's right, the phone call can wait!


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## Sofie (Dec 30, 2008)

I agree, the phone calls can wait and if they can't...PULL OVER...to the side of the road. It is now illegal to drive and use your phone in Illinois. We still see quite a few people using them anyway. 

Within minutes after watching Oprah, my Mom text our whole family (while sitting in the comfort of her home) asking us to please not text and drive.

I have an AT&T Tilt and it is near impossible to work the phone while driving.

Sofie


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## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

What a great movement. I can't wait till the laws in all 50 states catch up with reality and do the job of making us all safer. Here in Florida you can do handstands while putting on makeup while you drive.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

I have also stopped using my cell phone while driving as much.  I do answer some calls because I use a blue tooth and I can turn it on and off by pushing the button on my ear.  Absolutely no texting while driving.  
Thank you, Meredith.  This is definitely something that we all should do.
deb


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## BTackitt (Dec 15, 2008)

In our family whomever is driving (4 drivers) just automatically hands their cell to a passenger  when getting in the car.. Driver never answers calls, and if their phone gets a call from someone who cannot be ignored for whatever reason, passenger answers phone with I'm sorry She/He is driving atm, they will call you back as soon as we reach our destination.


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

This may start off slightly off-topic, but bear with me. In 1994 my mother suffered an aneurysm. She survived, but was severely compromised and after much rehab was able to go into assisted living. She had aphasia and it was very difficult to understand what she was saying/meaning. It was frustrating for her and for us.

BUT, if you called her on the phone, she was clear as could be. You could hold actual conversations with her and she said the correct words. It was amazing. I mentioned this to her neurosurgeon. Now mind you, in 1994, cell phones were just becoming popular. Not everyone had them. He said that when a person talks on the phone, the brain blocks out external stimuli. He said "how often are you on the phone while watching a TV program, and you hang up and have no idea what happened on the show?" He also went on to say that he thought that as cell phones became more popular, they would have to pass laws outlawing them while driving, because those external stimuli were blocked out.

I always remember that conversation, and always tell my adult sons to stay off the phone while driving.


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## drenee (Nov 11, 2008)

Wow, what a story.  Thank you for sharing.  
If you don't mind I'll be sharing your story with my family and friends to make the point about no driving and phoning.
deb


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

My wife's car is synchronized with her cell phone using Microsoft's Sync. She can answer by pushing a button on the steering wheel, talk through a microphone in the rear view mirror and listen to a caller through the radio's speakers. I don't use it because I'm convinced that talking on the phone distracts my attention from traffic. I do use the GPS features but they're just short "turn right at 4th street" and don't require any real concentration.


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## 4Katie (Jun 27, 2009)

Thanks so much for posting this. I'm sharing it with everyone I know, especially with those who have teen drivers.


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## geoffthomas (Feb 27, 2009)

This is a subject of incredible importance.

I completely agree with Jeff about not using the phone at all while driving.
And I am not surprised by the medical statement reported by Hossiermama - that you brain blocks out much of the world while on the phone.

So I do not use a phone while driving - not even bluetooth earpiece.

Why does it take "Oprah" to get across to so many people?

Just sayin......


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

geoffthomas said:


> Why does it take "Oprah" to get across to so many people?


I wish my adult children watched Oprah. They insist that talking on the phone and driving is only an "old people" problem. If they call me from the car I hang up on them.


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## summerteeth (Dec 23, 2009)

Wow - I wish more people could wait five whole minutes to use their phones.  Seriously.  I have a work Nextel and I don't even use that while driving.  

And IL is similar to California (based on what the above poster said): although California has laws against cell phones and driving, they are not enforced.  Cook County (IL) is the same way - it really is not enforced.  I no longer live in Cook County, but my county has a law stating you cannot use a cell phone in a school zone or in a work zone - that was enforced like our loud car stereo law: not at all!


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## Hoosiermama (Dec 28, 2009)

> Wow, what a story. Thank you for sharing.
> If you don't mind I'll be sharing your story with my family and friends to make the point about no driving and phoning.


I absolutely don't mind. I tell people that story all the time. He (the neurosurgeon) made quite an impression on me with that. Mom survived 12 years after the aneurysm, and whenever she had trouble relating something in person, I'd call her, and she could tell me what she wanted.


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## vikingwarrior22 (May 25, 2009)

geoffthomas said:


> This is a subject of incredible importance.
> 
> I completely agree with Jeff about not using the phone at all while driving.
> And I am not surprised by the medical statement reported by Hossiermama - that you brain blocks out much of the world while on the phone.
> ...


People I know up until Opra had her little show would ridicule me and my dw that we were so far back in the dark ages ...that they put on make-up,text and talk and carry on conversations with all the people in their car with no problem while driving...but hats off and thanks to Mererdith for putting this thread out there for those of us that don't follow Okra... and a special thanks to Hoosiermama for telling the story of her mother because that shows the science of it... something I always suspected to be true...


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## Ruby296 (Nov 1, 2008)

I saw the show too & I am in full agreement w/the pledge.  I won't talk while driving & have never sent a text message to anyone.  In fact I have them blocked from receiving on my phone too.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

I'd like to thank Hoosiermama for her story.  I never talk on the phone while driving because I know that I don't do two things at once very well.  My family is a different story.  It is illegal to drive while using a cell phone in Pennsylvania, unless one uses a hands free device.  My husband and children all have bluetooth for their phones and insist that using this does not impact their driving ability.  I have been disagreeing with them and this gives me some fuel for my arguement.  Maybe I can get through to a few of them at least.


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## Geoffrey (Jun 20, 2009)

Jeff said:


> My wife's car is synchronized with her cell phone using Microsoft's Sync. She can answer by pushing a button on the steering wheel, talk through a microphone in the rear view mirror and listen to a caller through the radio's speakers. I don't use it because I'm convinced that talking on the phone distracts my attention from traffic. I do use the GPS features but they're just short "turn right at 4th street" and don't require any real concentration.


My car has a built in bluetooth as well which is all controlled by steering wheel buttons and voice commands. I use it if a call comes in when I'm driving, but I don't think I could text while driving ... The other features in the car - navigation, climate, radio, etc - are all voice controlled and I pretty much only use voice when the car is moving.


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## Rhiathame (Mar 12, 2009)

I am one who will talk on the phone while driving but here are my rules:
1. I will only do it if I have my headset on, no balancing the phone my my shoulder and driving allowed.
2. No cell phone usage unless I am on the highway in light traffic
3. No texting or answering of emails. If an email comes in and I need to respond to it (my commutes are always a minimum of 40 min) I will either pull over or voice dial my phone to call into my voicemail which is voice activated and can read me my emails and I can respond to them through a voice recording.


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## David Derrico (Nov 18, 2009)

Hoosiermama said:


> This may start off slightly off-topic, but bear with me. In 1994 my mother suffered an aneurysm. She survived, but was severely compromised and after much rehab was able to go into assisted living. She had aphasia and it was very difficult to understand what she was saying/meaning. It was frustrating for her and for us.
> 
> BUT, if you called her on the phone, she was clear as could be. You could hold actual conversations with her and she said the correct words. It was amazing. I mentioned this to her neurosurgeon. Now mind you, in 1994, cell phones were just becoming popular. Not everyone had them. He said that when a person talks on the phone, the brain blocks out external stimuli. He said "how often are you on the phone while watching a TV program, and you hang up and have no idea what happened on the show?" He also went on to say that he thought that as cell phones became more popular, they would have to pass laws outlawing them while driving, because those external stimuli were blocked out.
> 
> I always remember that conversation, and always tell my adult sons to stay off the phone while driving.


Thank you very much for sharing this, it is a very powerful story. Perhaps you and your mother will end up saving some lives with it.

I have long held that talking on a cell phone while driving -- even with an earpiece -- is much more dangerous than people realize. It focuses your attention away from the "real world" in a way that talking with a passenger just doesn't. And don't even get me started on texting, I think the laws for that should be as or more severe than DWI. (It is certainly just as, if not more, dangerous than driving with a .08 BAL.)

Heck, there are a ton of people on the road who don't drive all that well when they AREN'T on the phone. And, honestly, about 75% of good driving is about paying attention.


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## raven312 (Jan 12, 2010)

Jeff said:


> I wish my adult children watched Oprah. They insist that talking on the phone and driving is only an "old people" problem. If they call me from the car I hang up on them.


I do the same thing! If my sons or godsons call, the first thing I ask is "Where are you?" If they say "in the car", I ask if they're driving. If they're driving, I say "Bye! Call me later!" and I hang up. They laugh and talk about me for this, but they already know I'm going to do it, so they don't call me while driving. I tell them, don't call ANYONE.


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## MichelleR (Feb 21, 2009)

Rhiathame said:


> I am one who will talk on the phone while driving but here are my rules


The headset doesn't make much of a difference. Hoosiermama's story revealed the actual problem that the brain ignores vital information while on a phone call and that as much of 50% of visual information isn't processed.


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

Hoosiermama said:


> This may start off slightly off-topic, but bear with me. In 1994 my mother suffered an aneurysm. She survived, but was severely compromised and after much rehab was able to go into assisted living. She had aphasia and it was very difficult to understand what she was saying/meaning. It was frustrating for her and for us.
> 
> BUT, if you called her on the phone, she was clear as could be. You could hold actual conversations with her and she said the correct words. It was amazing. I mentioned this to her neurosurgeon. Now mind you, in 1994, cell phones were just becoming popular. Not everyone had them. He said that when a person talks on the phone, the brain blocks out external stimuli. He said "how often are you on the phone while watching a TV program, and you hang up and have no idea what happened on the show?" He also went on to say that he thought that as cell phones became more popular, they would have to pass laws outlawing them while driving, because those external stimuli were blocked out.
> 
> I always remember that conversation, and always tell my adult sons to stay off the phone while driving.


Wow! Thank You so much Hoosiermama. My sister was 50 years old and had a stroke because she took Sudafed sinus/cold medicine (before the warnings about high blood pressure not mixing with these was a big deal) and was in a coma for three months and basically the same thing happened with her. That was in 1997 and the doctors explained the same thing to us about concentration. But I did not connect it all until now...Thanks again for sharing.

BTW, my friends are kind of angry with me because I may be "neglecting" them a little bit as my commute was my time to share time with them on the phone. Sorry. I am sure they will adjust and love me all the same when they realize how true the scientific data is. Which they say talking on the phone is like having had 4 drinks! AND people who know me... know that I can not even type very well after 4 drinks!


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## Meredith Sinclair (May 21, 2009)

BTackitt said:


> In our family whomever is driving (4 drivers) just automatically hands their cell to a passenger when getting in the car.. Driver never answers calls, and if their phone gets a call from someone who cannot be ignored for whatever reason, passenger answers phone with I'm sorry She/He is driving atm, they will call you back as soon as we reach our destination.


AWESOME!


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## ladyknight33 (Feb 2, 2009)

I use to get after my daughter for driving and texting and then I began to do the same (silly goose.) After watching Oprah's show and seeing the families who lost loved one in a split second,  I put the phone down yesteday. Ok I put in it my purse on the floor behind my seat on silent, so that I can not be tempted to check it at stoplights. My morning drive was a way for me and my friend in Maryland to catch up. I forget to tell her abou the pledge and she thought I was ignoring her.    Once I explained about the show, she forgave me and has agreed not to text and drive. I am still working on her about talking on the phone and driving.


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## Tippy (Dec 8, 2008)

My friend was crossing a street (green/walk light).  A driver on a cell phone made a left hand turn and hit my friend.  My friend was thrown about 30 feet, and was injured.  She already suffered from fibromyalgia.  A year later she still suffers from the injuries received in that accident.  She called the police and wanted the drive charged.  In our state, the most the driver could be charged with is reckless driving -- $200 fine --  no jail time.  Doesn't seem right.

Don't use your cell phone while you are driving.


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## Vegas_Asian (Nov 2, 2008)

I never text and drive. (already lost friends in non-phone related accidents) My friend forwarded me a link of a PSA from the UK (he's from the UK) of a phone related accident. Its actually a 30 hour show that follows a character from the day of the accident and the events that followed, I believe. I will post a link, but it is graphic and sad.

My aunt showed her kids this video and despite was they tell there mother....I know they still text.
WARNING GRAPHIC TEXTING PSA


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