How many of you have a cell phone? Okay, how many of you use it when you drive? I mean dialing, searching your address book, reading text messages, reading email, surfing the internet, using the GPS, finding the phone number of a restaurant en route, etc. etc. etc.! Honestly, all things that I’ve done. BUT, now that I realize how deadly and foolish those acts are, I have stopped them! What about you? In my OSHA training, I always emphasize that it doesn’t have to be the phone! Since my family has been growing I have found myself reaching in back to pick up pink elephants, to stop a drink from spilling (unsuccessfully) and more!
Here is a powerful question: Do you drive one way when you are by yourself, but yet drive differently when you are with your family?
So, that brings us back to the most powerful question I can bring forth in any safety training: Why? Why do you drive differently when you’re by yourself than when you’re with the family? Why!? Why do you pick up the cell phone to do any of the things mentioned above? The reasons are many, but there are 2 most common and powerful ones. The first one is TIME! And many many people -like you and me- who are greedy for time have killed many.
- We want to save time.
- We want to make time.
- We want to have more time!
So we knowingly choose to put our lives at risk as well as the lives of many others, so we can save 2 minutes, 5 minutes or 20 minutes. But, here’s the catch! When someone dies as a result of rolling the dice and using their phone -let’s say- then everyone around them cries out “Why!?” They can’t go back. You can’t go back. Don’t let it happen to you!
The other most powerful reason we knowingly take deadly risks everyday will come in my next post!