Smart Phones Don't Make Smart People

"In 2008 almost 6,000 people were killed and a half-million were injured in crashes related to driver distraction."

"Studies have found that texting while driving causes a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road."

"A car driver dialing a cell phone is 2.8 times more likely to get into a crash than a non-distracted driver."

It's no surprise that cell phones and smart phones have caused a great sociological phenomenon. Mobile phone subscriptions worldwide hit 4.6 billion about a year ago, and that statistic is only gaining speed. And they can do everything. The world is at our fingertips. What's ironic, though, is that these "smart" phones are causing people everywhere to act, well, stupid.

Every time I am driving (with my little daughter in the car) and I see someone looking at their cell phone instead of looking at the road, it makes me want to scream. Are we so narcissistic that we think we have to talk to someone else all the time? I know the answer to that one.

Cell phones are great, but, unfortunately, we can't handle them. Like a drug, we just can't let go of our addiction to communication. We have to let people know exactly what we're doing all the time. You know the person, right? The guy who gets on his cell phone as the plane is pulling up to the terminal. He's telling the person on the other line every little detail...where the plane is right now...how fast the plane is going...how many minutes he estimates before he's off the plane. Everyone looks at this guy and thinks, "Gee, buddy. Get a life. Everybody on the plane doesn't need to hear your stupid conversation." Here's the kicker: We're that guy. We're all that guy and we don't even know it. We've become so self-absorbed that we can't go through a single stop light without looking at our messages. We know the risks. We've seen the statistics. We don't really care.

Okay, my rant's gone on long enough. My point? Put down your freakin' cell phone and look at the road. If you hit my car, I will grab your phone and stomp it into pieces.

Statistics from: http://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cell-phone/statistics.html