We’ve all been guilty of it…you’re driving and you hear your phone going off. It’s your friend texting you. You keep glancing over wanting to read it…you’re curious and want to know what they said. Finally you grab your phone; take your eyes off the road and read the text. Then you check the road quickly and look back at your phone to respond.

Sound familiar? That’s because you’ve done it. We all have. It’s hard to resist looking at your phone when you see a notification or text come in. It’s FOMO. But it can wait. Your friends would rather have you arrive safely to your destination than to get in an accident because you responded to them.

Texting while driving is not only distracting and unsafe – it’s against the law. And distracted driving is more than just texting and driving. It’s anything that takes your attention away from the road including eating, reading, applying makeup, holding your dog, talking on the phone and more.

Steve has been brought in to schools to talk about the dangers of driving distracted. At one school in So Cal where he did an assembly, a car full of students were heading to prom when the driver reached for a packet of gum. Three of them were killed – including the newly elected ASB President – from him taking his eyes off the road.

Eight people die every day from distracted driving. We don’t want you to be added to that number.  You can read more stats and the real life consequences of distracted driving at itcanwait.com. “It Can Wait” is a movement to get people to stop texting while driving. They share stories about distracted drivers who killed others and had to go to jail. Or ended up injured or dead themselves because they couldn’t wait.

That text can wait! Your life and the lives of others are more important.

There are lots of things you can do to help with the distractions that take your attention off the road. We’ve come up with a few ways that can help make you a safer driver.

• Turn on the “do not disturb while driving” feature on your phone
• Put your phone away in the glove box, a purse, backpack, the trunk and the back seat – anywhere it will be out of your eye sight.
• If you have passengers’ in the car have them switch stations, CD’s or songs. Get them to hand you gum or anything else you might need. Let them navigate.
• Have your animal in a carrier or seatbelt made for dogs. Don’t let them on your lap.

“It Can Wait” has a pledge you can sign saying that you won’t text and drive. All of the Utalk crew has signed the pledge. Join us! Go to https://www.itcanwait.com/en/pledge.

Share it on social media and get your friends to be a part of this movement.

Let’s all do our part to make the roads safer for everyone. Don’t forget to let us know if you took the pledge. You can also tell us if you have any other ideas of how to keep your eyes on the road and not on your phone.

Don’t forget to check out our podcast on this topic: https://www.spreaker.com/user/utalkradio/mini-episode-18-texting-can-kill-your-fr

Take the pledge and be safe! It’s better for all of us!