OCEAN CITY – Can you justify the next text message sent from your driver’s seat? That is the question being raised by a new Ocean City firefighters texting and driving public safety campaign.
#JustifyIt (hashtag JustifyIt) uses firefighters’ first-hand experience with texting and driving disasters to educate the community and keep the public safe from these violent accidents.
“Texting and driving is a big problem for drivers of all ages across the nation, and our community is not immune,” said Ryan Whittington, President of the Ocean City Firefighters Union.
More than 1,000 people are injured every day due to texting while driving. Distracted driving causes 3,000 deaths each year, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA).
Texting while driving a vehicle has now replaced drinking while driving as the leading cause of accidents and deaths of teenage drivers. According to the Allstate Foundation, texting while driving has the same effect as driving after four beers.
Moreover, recent research shows texting in traffic isn’t simply a problem among teens – 47 percent of adults admit that they text while driving.
“Keeping your eyes off the road for even five seconds when you’re traveling at 55 mph is driving blindly for the length of a football field,” said Whittington. “It’s incredibly dangerous to look away while moving in a vehicle, even just to check a text.”
#JustifyIt puts accountability back into the driver’s hands. Firefighters ask drivers to justify their behavior behind the wheel and encourage drivers to ask themselves if the text they’re about to send or receive is worth the consequences, not only to themselves, but to everyone around them.
“The collateral damage that comes with texting and driving is overwhelming,” said Whittington. “Devastating physical and emotional harm to family, friends, fellow drivers and others are all possible outcomes of texting and driving.”
Ocean City firefighters encourage the community to get involved in the campaign through social media and by talking to your kids and loved ones about the dangers of texting and driving.
Valuable advice from local firefighters include never using your phone while driving; putting your phone somewhere you can’t see it (out of sight, out of mind; silence your phone while driving because if you can’t hear your notifications, you are less likely to check them; ask a friend to read and reply to your texts while you’re driving; and pull over or wait until parked to check or send messages.