Texting while driving is not only plain wrong and dangerous, it is deadly.
So is taking snaps, creating Facebook posts, and talking over the phone while driving.
While you may seem in control of your vehicle, it only takes a second of distraction for you to overlook a pedestrian, another vehicle, or an animal running across the street.
Jacque Tierce is a grieving mother who lost her 22-year-old daughter, Danielle, to an accident caused by a short text message.
Danielle was on her way to work when she texted her 3-year-old son’s daycare provider. It only took a few seconds for her to crash into a semi-truck that hit the breaks in front of her car.
Soon after the accident, the mom received a call informing her about the incident. She rushed to the hospital where she found her daughter awake in an ambulance but severely injured.
“I arrived just as they were taking her out of the ambulance and was informed they would be airlifting her to Wichita.
“Danielle was awake and able to talk to me. Words I will never forget as long as I live. ‘Mom,’ she said in the most agonizing voice I’ve ever heard, ‘It hurts so bad Mom. My stomach hurt so bad.’ [sic]
“I got to tell her I loved her and squeeze her hand before she went out again and was loaded into the helicopter,” Jacque wrote in her blog post.
After relocating the 22-year-old, Jacque and her partner visited the hospital where Danielle was transferred and scheduled for surgery.
Sadly, however, the young mother succumbed to injuries and passed away.
“As we planned for her funeral, the pastor conducting her service asked us, ‘do you want me to say something about texting and driving during the funeral? I will do it in a tactful way.’
“After a few minutes of contemplation, we all agreed that it should be addressed. If we could save one person from the heartache that we are experiencing, then we needed to do that,” Jacque said, determined to raise the awareness of the dangers associated with texting while driving.
“Do you know that 4.6 seconds is the average time it takes to read or send a text? Do you also know that in those 4.6 seconds driving at highway speed, you can travel the length of a football field and a half?
“In my daughter’s case, 4.6 seconds cost her her life. She didn’t even brake for the semi because she didn’t see it. What if she would have injured the truck driver, another driver, or a pedestrian?
“No text message or any other driver distraction is worth any of it!! Pull over if it’s that important and can’t wait!” she said.
Don’t text and drive. If you have to say or share something that can’t wait, make sure to stop your car in a safe place and do it there. Don’t risk your life and the lives of those around you.
To spread the awareness of the dangers of using a phone or other gadgets while driving, please SHARE this post with your loved ones on Facebook and help save lives!