Most of us see them every day, cell phone users who driving while under the influence of technology. Sometimes it is just annoying being behind someone who is driving too slowly while concentrating on their phone call. Other times it is downright dangerous, such as the clown who nearly plowed into us when he ran a red light.
And like the times Dear Mommy is walking from the parking lot to the store yakking on her cell while Dear Toddlers toddle around and nearly get hit by cars. Or when Dear Daddy is walking down the street with his Dear Daughter. He's so engrossed in his cell phone conversation that he crosses the street without looking, holding his daughter's hand. It was a difficult near miss. Dad stopped his conversation long enough to flip the bird. Nice lessons for your daughter there, Dad. Walk across streets without looking for traffic, flip off driver who nearly hits you.
And then there's the Dear Mommy in the grocery store parking lot with a toddler in her lap and a cell phone at her ear. She doesn't see the elderly lady and her companion already crossing to the parking lot from the store and barely misses hitting them. When asked "Do you know that you nearly ran over two people while you were talking on the phone?" she has no clue. And driving with a toddler in her lap shows that she's either more clueless, or just irresponsible.
(Someone will likely ask "Didn't you call the police?" about the mom with toddler in her lap while driving. Yes. And they promised to send someone out to check on it. But by then, Dear Mommy was in the store shopping.)
Here's an idea: A Surgeon's Warning label on cell phones: "Driving and talking is hazardous to your health and the health of others. Hang up and drive." Everyone thinks that they "can handle it," but probably have no clue they may have nearly caused an accident. Reacting to a situation is delayed while talking on the phone. And seconds can be the difference between a "that was close!" and disaster.
Maybe a label reminding parents to keep an eye on their kids while chatting, too. But if someone can't remember the basics of looking before crossing a street, and watching your kids in the parking lot, then labels probably wouldn't do any good.
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3 comments:
And hang up the phone so you can say "good-bye" to your kids when dropping them off at school and "hello" when picking them up. Not only would this lead to some feel-good moments in the family, but you are less likely to annoy other parents by your thoughtless behavior and careless driving in the school parking lot and surrounding school zone.
How about those parents who are yakking on the phone the entire time they're in public while their children try to get their attention? Seems like the parent either needs to teach the child not to interrupt when somebody's on the phone, or the parent needs to realize their phone habits are making them permanently unavailable to their kids and their kids are acting out of desperation.
I thought of your blog last night as I watched the show Medium. The dad was talking on the phone while his son was being kidnapped. I wonder what else happens to kids while their parents are talking!
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