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Wednesday, July 02, 2008

Public Service Announcement

This is completely off topic, and I apologize for it. On Monday, one of my friends was killed in a car crash. Her parents, who were with her, are in critical condition and the doctors don't expect her mother to survive. My friend was 46.

An 18 year old girl ran a stop sign and t-boned them. She walked away with minor injuries. She was also text messaging while driving.

Please don't do that. Texting requires that you use your hands for something other than steering and your eyes for something other than looking.

If your teenager is texting while driving, please take her phone and her car away from her.

Not only is my friend dead, this 18 year old girl has to live knowing her stupidity caused someone else's death. I don't think you would want to be in either position.

28 comments:

Alison said...

I'm so sorry.

Thank you for posting this.

Alison said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Samantha said...

I am sorry to hear about your friend. I hope that her parents are able to pull through.

You're in my thoughts.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry about your friend, and hope her parents recover.

Anonymous said...

I'm so sorry for your los.

Your message is an important one.

Cpt Hook

Anonymous said...

thank you so much for posting this and I am so sorry for your loss -- I used to be dumb enough to text and drive and I was lucky to never hurt anyone while doing so. luckily I wised up. again, I am so sorry for your loss and you and your friend's family are in my thoughts.

Reva said...

I hope you don't mind but I linked this post off my blog -- think it is a very impt message that needs to get out to as many as possible. You are in my thoughts.

Unknown said...

I'm so sorry for your loss.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry for your loss...

Thank you so much for this important reminder...

Anonymous said...

Ugh, I'm so sorry for your loss. News like this always fills me with anger.

Having been almost run over by someone who was talking on her cellphone while driving (not an exaggeration - you should've heard the screeches of her tires), I would add: Even though your eyes may look towards the road, 100% of your focus is not, so no talking on your cellphone while driving either!

Unknown said...

Thank you for this note. I'm so sorry for your loss.

I'll admit it. I've glanced at my blackberry while driving and this is another reminder not to do it.

It's not just teenagers who make stupid decisions. It's me and everyone else who thinks that nothing bad will happen.

Rachel - former HR blogger said...

The problem isn't the age, it's the fact that driving is a skill that takes a while to develop. Sadly we can't just ship people off until they learn defensive driving and not to text while driving.

I'm so sorry for your loss. I hope the best for her parents.

Surya said...

so sorry.

hope you and her loved ones cope well with the tragedy.

Lisaleh said...

My thoughts are with you and your friends family today.

HR Godess said...

I'm very sorry for your loss. It's a very unfortunate lesson to learn. Thanks for the note.

Lea Setegn said...

I'm so sorry -- it's a horrible tragedy.

Sometime in the last couple of years, 5 cheerleaders in my hometown died in a car accident caused by the driver texting one of the girls in the backseat.

Last year, I lost a 25-year-old friend of mine who was hit by a drunk driver.

Driving is serious business, and I think that gets forgotten.

Anonymous said...

We need to be frequently reminded that there is a human side to every HR and legal issue. We have all reminded our readers of risks, particularly the problems of car cell phone/texting.

Anonymous said...

How awful. I'm so sorry for you and your friend's family. Thanks for reminding me to remind my teens about texting.

Anonymous said...

EHRL: I am so sorry for your loss, I hope her parents are doing better.

As a relatively young person (I'm 25) I have lost 4 friends to accidents related to texting and driving. I've lost only 1 to drinking & driving (which is just as serious, but I think the texting thing feels safe for some reason). Everyone needs to understand that driving is a privilage, not a right and that when you get behind the wheel you are responsible for not only your life, but the lives of everyone you encounter.

Parents: PLEASE take away your kids phones and cars if you or anyone else ever sees them texting while driving.

Unknown said...

EHRL, I'm so sorry for your loss. I'm linking back to this on my blog too... we ALL need to be reminded (no matter how old we are or how long we've been driving) that one second of lost attention can cause a world of pain and hurt not just for us, but for others.

Anonymous said...

Very sorry to hear of this tragedy.

I second what Holly said.

Anonymous said...

I felt really sorry for what had happened. We should not let technology rule us and its there to help and not ruin us. A small mistake has actually changed lives of many.

Anonymous said...

Tragedy caused by callous stupidity...
So many young people are addicted to their phones; I think that new drivers, especially, should face a ban from driving if caught using a mobile phone with or without hands free and double the ban for texting whilst driving.
If we don't deal with this problem now many more people will lose loved ones senselessly.
Whatever happens your friends parents lives will never be the same - so sad.

Anonymous said...

I am so sorry...I just read this aloud to my teenage driver. That should have never happened to your friend.

Rodolphe Mortreuil said...

It turns out that the First Lady made a similar error to that kid driver. (http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/09/opinion/09dowd.html?hp).

What a tragic waste.

Anonymous said...

How awful. I am so sorry. A lesson to all of us to keep our attention on the road, and not on our cellphones.

My thoughts and prayers are with you and your friend's family.

Vico said...

Thank you for this post. I feel sorry for your friend and admire your sense of compassion.
Things like this happen and I've seen more than one posts on such events, yours shows such high level of empathy I've never met before.
Thank you again for a post that reminded me to think more often to true human values.

Anonymous said...

I'm sorry to hear about your friend.

And I have to say, you have show a far higher level of diplomacy than I think I could muster towards the other person involved.

I simply cannot fathom anyone who does anything else when driving other than drive. EVER.