Last year, AT&T kicked off its “Txtng & Drivng…It Can Wait” (get it?) initiative to help spread awareness among teenagers that texting while driving can be deadly. Don’t believe AT&T? Ask the Jonas Brothers, they’ve made a bit of a cause out of texting and driving and they don’t just shill for any cause. As for AT&T, the company is pledging $250,000 per year for the next four years to teach teenagers with their LOLs and their “Wr R U”s that crashes are the number one cause of death for teens each year. Texting while driving is a dangerous distraction, and it also takes away from more responsible things like mooning and Chinese fire drills.
A driving instructor in California is putting his foot down – haha, not on the pedal, you goofs! – when it comes to the growing trend of cutting driver’s ed courses for teens in favor of online courses. For starters, John Diggs claims that the mandatory 30 hours of driving lessons that California typically requires has been cut to 6 hours, and you can’t exactly learn how to drive on a computer. But he’s also stressing the dangers of texting while driving by starting with younger drivers while trying to break the bad habits of older drivers. Diggs believes that greater punishments from law enforcement will teach drivers the important lesson of putting down their phones. If not fines, there’s always flogging.
Maybe teenagers are content with risking their lives just to tell their buddies that they’re heading to Taco Bell. If telecommunications giants and driver’s ed instructors can’t reach them, then we’ll just lean on a teenager’s best friend – a teacher. Schools are beginning to cut cursive handwriting from curriculums because the artistic writing style is viewed as a waste of time in this tech and texting savvy world. First, it’s cursive handwriting. Then it’s stencils. Next thing you know, schools are cutting finger painting. I’m afraid that’s a world I don’t want to live in, friends.
[news-links]
- AT&T d0n8tng $1 m1lln 2 cmpa1n gnst txting w1le drvng. (PR Newswire)
- Anti-texting messages promoted in driver’s ed courses now. (News 10 Sacramento)
- Cursive handwriting becoming obsolete, says Phil Rirruto. (MNN)
[/news-links]
[news-morenews]
- Sasha the dog was brought to an animal rescue in O’Fallon, Missouri and she gave birth to two puppies, one of which was dead. The dog was so devastated that vets thought she’d have to be put to sleep. That is, until Sasha adopted a baby raccoon and they saved each other’s lives. [Video] (Fox 2 Now)
- Need more cute? Ginger the golden retriever has adopted two baby ducks and is raising them as her own. How did she happen across these wayward ducklings? WHO CARES? Dog + ducks = Aw. Soon the ducks will be released into the wild ruining this adorable high. [Video] (WisTV)
[/news-morenews]
[news-stats]
- According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, more than 20% of automobile crashes in 2009 were caused by distracted driving. 18% of those accidents (at least 995 crashes) involved the use of cellular phones. Care to wager if that number will be higher this year? (Distraction)
- Easy adults, you’re not off the hook. While 25% of teens admit to texting while driving, 25% of adults have also come clean on their awful habit. Drivers who text are more than 23% more likely to experience an accident than those who don’t. Looks like adults could learn from the Jonas Brothers, too. (Patch)
[/news-stats]