We’ve all seen those commercials – the ones where a sad-faced young adult talks about how he killed three members of one family because he was texting and driving. We don’t want to watch, but we do because even though we are glad we’re not the ones who have to live with that burden, we could be. We’ve all sent a text while driving.
During the summer, New York police went after texting drivers to the tune of a 365 percent increase in citations. Now Governor Andrew Cuomo is introducing the second half of the program, some 300 blue signs across 91 rest stops and parking areas where drivers can stop and safely attend to their phones and messages away from traffic.
The signs will carry messages like, “It can wait. Text stop 5 miles.” Cuomo said: “With this new effort, we are sending a clear message to drivers that there is no excuse to take your hands off the wheel and eyes off the road because your text can wait until the next texting zone.”
It’s a terrific idea, because some of us would never drink and drive or take drugs and drive, but because the cell phone and all its charms is pretty addictive, we might try to sneak in a message while stopped at a red light. Not I, of course.
