One of the biggest difficulties that trying to stop texting while driving faces is apathy. A problem that has I’m sure plagued many public health and safety campaigns, including mine, is getting people to care. And when the supposed biggest offenders are young people, how do you make them care about being safe on the road? The conventional approach has been to bombard them with a frightening images that will scare them into obeying whatever it is you want them to do. The ends justifies the means, as they say. But maybe we should take a step back a little and to the side, for just a second.
Apologies if this gets a little abstract, but the problem I’ve always noticed about driving a car is the way it tends to dehumanize people. Hmm, let me try to explain what I mean. We often react differently in cars because instead of seeing another human being that is just as imperfect as yourself, you are faced with a big hunk of metal that is simply an obstacle in the way of my getting to yoga on time. What if instead of seeing a praise Jesus bumper sticker on the back of a car you saw a human face? Would many of us still be so impatient and impolite? Perhaps. On top of all this the act of driving becomes so second nature to us we forget we are actually driving this huge chunk of metal that could end our lives in one ill-timed sneeze.
So next time you’re driving, remember: it’s really not worth the risk. Put the phone down, take a deep breath and relax. Serenity Now.
Text n Drive Tips 