This morning I chased down a car on my street and screamed at the driver to put away their mobile phone, which was in their hands, a texting window open, and their eyes were on it instead of the road. Perhaps it was not my most refined or polite moment, but this driver was the third in as many minutes that I saw texting while driving past my house, which just happens to be directly across the street from Jackson Street Elementary School.
From my driveway, I can see the three crosswalks that hundreds of children use each day while walking to school; I can also see the drivers with their heads down and their phones in their laps as they approach these crosswalks. Texting while driving is ILLEGAL in Massachusetts. Operators cannot use any mobile telephone or handheld device capable of accessing the internet to write, send or read an electronic message including text messages, emails and instant messages or to access the internet while operating a vehicle. The law applies even if the vehicle is stopped in traffic.
You are 23 times more likely to crash if you are texting, and in front of my house, that crash will most likely involve a child. I urge you to turn on the Do Not Disturb features of your phone, and to pull over if you truly need to read a message or send a text. I’ll even let you use my driveway.
Mollie Hartford
Northampton