Letter: Don’t text and drive

Updated: August 14, 2012 12:36PM

Don’t text and drive

At age 16, I rear-ended a car because I read a text.

Afterward I made the decision to never text while driving again. Since then I’ve seen more campaigns against it, mostly targeting “irresponsible” teenagers. Still I see others on the road doing the unmistakeable “glance-up, glance-down.” The worst part? Often around Hinsdale, they’re parents driving cars full of kids.

I’m a nanny. I think I can speak for many nannies and all parents when I say that the kids we care for mean the world to us. When a child is in my car, my main priority is their safety. So it is astonishing to so often see parents on the road texting. It’s illegal in Illinois to text and drive, but furthermore, I’m trying to keep myself and “my” kids safe. When I pass a car where the adult driver is texting, they’re not only putting themselves and their children in danger, but putting me and the kids in my car in danger. At Safety Village, kids learn road rules; I bet any of those children would know that using phones while driving isn’t safe. So why did I see a parent texting while driving away from Safety Village graduation? What example does that set? We learn something is unsafe, but mommy and daddy do it so really it’s okay?

I urge parents not to text and drive. Let’s keep each other safe. Don’t wait for a tragedy to stop texting and driving.

Francesca Sadler

Hinsdale

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