Editorial: Put the cell phone down, it can wait

During a comment period at last week’s Community Transition Advisory Committee meeting in Whitehall, Barrick Golden Sunlight Mine Safety Director Jim Loomis reminded those in attendance about the dangers of using a cell phone while driving. Loomis said that every day in the United States, 15 people die as a direct result of using a phone while driving. He said everyone has phones, but encouraged everyone to think of the consequences and to not use them while operating a vehicle.

I was very encouraged to hear what Loomis had to say, and I think more people really need to take a closer look at the issue. There is not a day that goes by where I don’t see somebody distracted at the wheel, and it is usually because they are looking at their phone.

The other day I was standing by my mailbox and saw somebody driving past me on Yellowstone Road. They were driving in and out of their lane, and I thought for a second they were headed straight towards me. As they got closer I saw it somebody trying to either text or look at something on the Internet. A lot of people will say this is just an issue with teenagers or people in their early 20’s, but this is not the case at all. This person was middle aged and didn’t seem to have a care in the world.

Using a cell phone while driving has a direct impact not only on the operator of a vehicle, but for other people driving and people walking. There are so many kids who walk around locally, and it is flat out dangerous to be distracted.. Three or four seconds on the phone can have dire, even fatal consequences.

There is nothing that is so important that it cannot wait until a person arrives at a destination, or if it is an emergency they can pull over. People really need to think before they pull out the phone driving. When somebody is texting they don’t intend to cause an accident, but it happens. Put the phone down, you are not just risking your life, you are risking the lives of others.

JHS