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Editorial

'Cell Off' Day seeks to put end to distracted driving

Tuesday, June 28, 2011
McCook Daily Gazette

Authorities are looking at a cell phone recovered from the burned out wreckage of a semi truck that struck an Amtrak train in Nevada on Friday to see if the driver might have been using it when the accident occurred.

Conditions were clear and drivers of two following trucks saw no reason why the lead truck should have struck the passenger train, killing six including the driver, train conductor and four passengers, including a Seward, Nebraska, woman and her granddaughter.

We don't know yet whether the driver was talking or texting, but if he was, it was far from the first time such a distraction caused such a tragedy.

Watch passing cars on any day, regardless the weather or traffic conditions, and you'll see a surprising number of drivers with a cell phone glued to their ear, or their eye glued to a cell phone while they text.

Too many of us know of people who have been killed or injured because of distracted driving, or have seen close-calls, or have been distracted by wireless devices ourselves.

Yes, it is illegal to text and drive in Nebraska, but how many of us cheat?

Modern cars are very reliable and easy to operate, but driving is still an activity that requires all of our attention, whether out on the highway or on a neighborhood street on the way to the grocery story.

The National Safety Council attributes 1.3 million crashes per year to cell phone talking and texting while driving. Hand-held or hands-free, the distraction is the same, the council contends.

To point out the problem, and help wean us from a bad habit, the organization is joining businesses, law enforcement agencies and nonprofits in promoting the inaugural "National 'Cell Off' Day" on Wednesday.

Organizers are "challenging all drivers to commit to a day of cell-free driving; then another and another, until the habit is broken and everyone is driving safely! Let's do it for the people we love, and the people who love us."

They have a good idea. As some would put it indelicately, "Shut up and drive!"

More information is available at www.SafeNebraska.org

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  • Yes it is illegal to text and drive in Nebraska,but it is only a secondary offense, give me a break,our great state senators are just as bad as their big brothers and sisters in Washington. They caved to the big cell phone outfits, afraid they would lose their big contributions.

    Time for the state senators to have the guts to take on the big cell phone outfits and pass a law that has some power behind it. Bet if the fine was about $200 per offense, you wouldn't see the people with a cell phone in their ear, or with their head down trying to text while they are driving.

    -- Posted by goarmy67 on Tue, Jun 28, 2011, at 6:48 PM
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