By ALLEN MCQUISTON
Jemez Insurance Agency
Serving Los Alamos Since 1963

It seems like every day we are hearing of a new accident caused by distracted driving. Whether it was caused by someone texting, scrolling on their phone, or just not paying attention to the road, distracted driving accidents are all too frequent and often fatal.

By now I believe 105 percent of the U.S. has a portable computer in their pocket that we still call a “phone”, even though no one actually talks on it anymore. What we do is tweet on Twitter, comment on Facebook, post on Instagram, send a gmail, respond to a Text, read ESPN updates, make store purchases and on and on.

The benefits of these devices are incredible. Unfortunately, the side effects are anything but. We have trained our brains to think we need to have access to information the instant it happens. Everyone wants to be the first to text a friend about breaking news, or to retweet something important. When this becomes a real problem is when we’re behind the wheel of a car.

Has your phone ever given you an alert when you were driving? If so, then you know the urge to check the message that very second. It can be a powerful urge that you literally have to wrestle with, but I urge you to WAIT!

Driving is not something that we should take lightly. It requires our full attention and all it takes is one second for something to happen. I understand the urge to see what someone has texted or e-mailed you, but ask yourself this, “Is looking at my phone while driving worth hurting myself or someone else?”

With April being distracted driving awareness month, here are some safety tips that will help prevent distracted driving:

• If you have a passenger with you, have them answer your calls and/or texts. If you trust them to be in your front seat, you should trust them to read your texts.
• Stay off your phone – regardless of how long your drive may be, you can wait to scroll through Instagram or Twitter. The photos and tweets will be there when your vehicle comes to a stop.
• Pull over to text – if you are alone and need to send a text, pull over and park before hitting send. Just a split second taking your eyes off the road can be fatal.

Remember no matter how skilled of a driver you are … it only takes one second to change everything.

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