Making My Car A No Phone Zone Is Just NOT For Me.

I'm a huge fan of being a safe driver, NOT a distracted driver.  I'm also a huge fan of Oprah.  But I'm just NOT on board with her recent campaign to make our cars No Phone Zones.  I've been in sales for 15+ years and have had a cell phone since as long as I can remember.  I've had BIG phones, speaker phones, flip phones and now have a blackberry and an iPhone (yes, I have two phones!)  I'm on the phone so much that I generally get a new phone every year.  Verizon...LOVES me.

Talking on my phone while driving makes all the travel I do bearable and time efficient.  It's lonely and tough being on the road so much, especially when I'm missing my three kids at home and thinking about all of the things that I need to get taken care of for both work and my personal life.  And if I pulled over to the side of the road to make calls, I'd be there all day.  If I waited until I got home, I'd be ignoring my kids and be a distracted parent.  I'm all about time management.  My car is my second home and my office.  Would you take the phone out of your home or office?

I did think about signing Oprah's no phone pledge.  I clicked on her website and when I thought about it, I just could NOT check all of the boxes.  There were three boxes.  The first, to agree to NOT text while driving.  The second, to only use a hands-free device while talking.  And the third, to completely agree to NEVER text or talk while driving- making your car a NO Phone Zone.  I could only agree to the first. 

I completely agree that texting while driving is dangerous.  I admit that I've tried it and thought, "Scary- don't do that again!"  So, I don't text while I drive.  I will text only when pulled over or parked.  My friends wonder why I'm not quick to respond to a text.  Well, texting while driving is right up there with doing your hair (putting it up in a ponytail), applying makeup (not just lipstick) and eating Chic-fil-A chicken strips (and dipping them in sauce) or doing a Google Search.  Trust me, as a working mom living in my car for so many years, I've either tried it and/or have seen it all.

I agree that driving while talking on the cell phone can be dangerous.  For instance, like what I saw today on my way home.  I saw multi-tasking distracted driving at it's finest.  Some guy was talking on his cell phone, eating and talking to a friend in his passenger seat.  He then proceeded to pass me on a crowded highway.  I don't think his hands were on the wheel.

I know that researchers have looked into the cause of accidents, but what else were these people on their cell phones doing?  Were they just being completely reckless and irresponsible?  Were they eating, reading a map or maybe also suffering from lack of sleep?  Were they speeding too? Did they maybe have too many french fries in their life time and were also having chest pains?  Think about how many people have heart attacks while driving.  Should we ban all cholesterol laden foods or crack down on fast food joints to make our roads safer?  Isn't having poor health while driving risky to other drivers too? 

I think that talking on cell phones while driving can be safe.  It can be much less dangerous than driving while talking to another passenger in your car.  Afterall, you may want to make eye contact with that person- which means taking your eyes off the road.  Should we ban all people from talking to other passengers or drinking a cup of coffee in their car too?  

Cell phones while driving are like anything else- there is a safe way to do it and and an unsafe way to do it.  Some people are good at it and some people will never get it.  We need to be responsible about it.  And I don't think that young in-experienced drivers should ever do it.  I also DON'T think teenagers should ever be allowed to drive with other kids in the car (but that's another article!)

As far as driving handsfree, I try.  But I don't really know if that makes talking on our cells any safer.  Fussing with headsets/earpieces (and I've tried many) is almost more distracting at times.  In my current car, I have blue tooth.  I'm working on getting that set up and will let you know how that pans out.

So for now, I've checked box #1 (no texting), considering box #2 (only handsfree), but box #3 (making my car a complete No Phone Zone) is just NOT for me.  Which boxes will you be checking? 

This is an original post to Philly Moms Blog.  Kristie is the author of the children's book:Mommy's High Heel Shoes and works full time in the Bio Oncology world.  When she isn't driving around talking on her cell phone, you can find her writing on her personal blog and Real Mommy Reviews.  Follow her adventures on Twitter @MommyshhShoes.