On Monday, January 18, Oprah Winfrey began taking a stand against distracted driving, with her “No Phone Zone” message. This Friday, April 30, the Department of Transportation, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, Governors Highway Safety Association, National Organizations for Youth Safety, Focus Driven, Students Against Destructive Decisions, RADD, the Entertainment Industry’s Voice for Road Safety, Sprint, General Motors/Chevrolet, and Liberty Mutual will join Oprah and Harpo Studios to take their message to the streets by declaring “National No Phone Zone Day.” Rallies will be held in Atlanta, Boston, Detroit, Los Angeles and Washington, D.C. In conjunction with her live show Friday, a new “No Phone Zone” public service announcement campaign will be showcased.
More than 160,000 people to date have signed Oprah’s “No Phone Zone” pledge. She has had more success in spreading the word of the dangers of distracted driving. Many celebrities have signed her pledge. Here is the pledge:
“I pledge to make my car a No Phone Zone. Beginning right now, I will do my part to help put an end to distracted driving by committing to drive as responsibly as I can:
Choose one:
I will not text while driving.
I will not text while driving and will use only handsfree calling if I need to speak on the phone while driving.
I will not text or use my phone while I am driving. If I need to use my phone, I will pull over to a secure location.”
The rest of the pledge is on the internet; please give a lot of consideration to completing it.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration approximately 6,000 Americans are killed annually, with another 150,000 persons injured in accidents caused by drivers either texting or talking on their cell phones. There is no conversation worth taking that risk. The best practice is to turn your cell phone off while you are behind the wheel. Hands-free phones are safer, but you still may get into a conversation that takes your attention away from driving safely.
Thank you, Oprah, for all you have done and continue to do to keep us all safer on the highways.
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