Distracted Driving! This is a huge issue for all of us on the roads today but especially important for our kids who are new drivers.
From a purely parental perspective, what can be done?
This is a huge issue and is vitally important to us as moms, parents, citizens, and overall safety concerned human beings.
OUR KIDS ARE WATCHING
The most important thing we can do for our kids is to teach them how to be good drivers by modeling the best driving practices we can.
You may think that the most important thing you can do for your child’s safety in the car is to get them the right car seat and have them buckled in safely. This is very important but if you think your job ends there then you are mistaken. Even when a kid is small enough to be strapped into a car seat they are watching your every move.
There are some great studies that have come out indicating that there is a relationship between parents driving style and their kids driving style. One research article even went as far as to call it the Genetics of Driving abilities.
The most important take away message for us as parents is that if we want our children to be good drivers once they get their drivers license and not get into the habit of driving with distractions, then we need to show them how to do this – not tell them.
Help your kids be the best drivers they can be by showing them how to drive without distractions. You may not think they are noticing that you didn’t answer your phone while driving, or that you waited until you pulled over to check your text messages and then reply, but they do notice. They are watching. And it does make a difference.
Ralph Waldo Emerson once said
What you do speaks so loudly that I cannot hear what you say
The week of September 21 the Dept of Transportation is hosting a Distracted Driving Summit in Washington D.C.
Wired Safety will be hosting a special event on the 20th. If anyone is planning on attending the Distracted Driving Summit on the 21st and would like more information about the event at the National Press Club on the 20th please send an email to wiredsafety@121gr.com.
Leading up to this event we will be posting and tweeting different bits of information on Distracted Driving and the importance of the spotlight on this issue.
Do you have your own Distracted Driving story? Tweet us @wiredmom or send us an email to wiredmoms@gmail.com
