If I can admit it, so can you – we’ve all been subject to distracted driving and lucky enough not to get caught, but that’s no longer the case. Yesterday, Governor Cuomo approved legislation raising texting while driving to a primary offense.

That distracted driving poses a serious threat and draws national concern is no surprise, but the GHSA (Governors Highway Safety Association) has arrived at the startling statistic that smartphones are tied to 25% of all car crashes.

So what can we do about it?

First, companies can (and should) create internal use policies, particularly for those commuting daily with their smartphone as their only lifeline.

Secondly, we can use advanced technology to solve the problem. Whether it’s tools like T-Mobile’s DriveSmart or the SAFECELLapp offered for the iPhone and Android that rewards users for safe driving, there’s a better alternative than “it won’t happen to me”.

In 2007, 5 local girls suffered a tragic fatality in consequence of distracted driving; consider how that number has grown exponentially as new technology drives our daily lives and people are not only calling and texting, but sifting through emails, scrolling their news feed, and checking Twitter updates during rush hour traffic.

Isn’t it time you became a real “smart” phone user?

 
Stephanie C.

(Photo courtesy of corbisimages.com)

I certainly contributed to HLN’s sky-high ratings, spending much of the last week recording TV coverage and refreshing my Twitter feed. Networks and news anchors like Vinnie Politan whose tweets blazed with real-time updates have personified “the social media trial of the century” as named by Time Magazine.

With countless tweets, over 150 Facebook pages dedicated to the justice and remembrance of Caylee, over 50 debating Casey’s fate, and many more to the trial’s progression alone, who could doubt the power of social media?

Yes, we have an innate emotional drive to latch onto tragedy of this nature; however tens of thousands of people looked to Web platforms for continuous connection leading up to the verdict and to express the obvious majority’s bitter outrage within minutes of its revelation.

Live-stream video feeds, digital apps, and instant access to the twists and turns made social media tools the go-to for new developments. Kip Wotkyns, Metro State College assistant professor of communications, attests to the commitment 24-hour news stations have to providing compelling content – social media makes that possible.

If Facebook and Twitter can engage millions of people, generating nationwide involvement, isn’t that enough for skeptics to jump on the social bandwagon, if for no other reason than to weigh in on the very issues that shape our society’s future?

-Stephanie C.

Photo compliments of blog.hudsonhorizons.com