by Jeremy Keck | Nov 4, 2012 | Opinion
There I was, behind the wheel, texting and driving. I intended to type out the message, “Meet me at McDonald’s in 20 minutes.” I did not get past, “Meet me at.” I looked up at the road to see a car pull out in front of me. I switched lanes, but oncoming traffic was headed straight toward me. I then tried to get back in my lane, overcorrected, veered off the road and crashed. The good news, however, is that this was just a simulation. All this happened on Thursday morning, Nov. 1 when I drove a simulator that AT&T brought to Brentwood Academy. I was there with Cathy Lewandowski, senior public relations manager, to shadow for the corporation. I regret to inform you that I crashed no more than 7 seconds into the challenge. The simulator is designed to drive a point: you never know what may happen on the road while you are behind the wheel. The simulation had cars pulling out in front of me, pedestrians jaywalking and stoplights quickly transitioning from green to red. These are obstacles you can easily avoid if you are paying attention but are much more difficult if you are not being fully attentive. When I was driving back to campus I experienced a real life obstacle of my own. I was driving down Granny White when a car in the opposite lane began drifting into my lane. I adjusted my car to the edge of the road, which was possibly a life-saving move because by the time our vehicles crossed paths the other person’s vehicle was halfway into my lane....
by Emily Snell | Sep 26, 2012 | Opinion
You’re driving down Woodmont Boulevard, heading back to campus. As you pull up to the traffic light at Granny White, you look up and slam on your brakes, realizing the car in front of you is just a few inches away. You let out a sigh of relief and finish the text you were just sending. I would bet almost all of us have been guilty of texting and driving. Most people say they know it is unsafe, but an unfortunately high number of them admit they do it anyway. Until last Thursday, I was one of those people. On Thursday in women’s chapel, a former Lipscomb student shared her testimony about how she killed a man because she was driving drunk. She spent three years in prison because of it. Now she’s just 23 years old and has to live with the fact she took someone’s life. No, texting and driving isn’t the same thing as drinking and driving. It’s actually worse. Did you know that some studies show it’s even more dangerous? Think about that next time you see someone who you believe is obviously under the influence and is drifting across lanes. Then realize that what you are doing when texting and driving is probably even more hazardous. That means you could be forced to live life knowing that you took someone else’s … because you just had to send that text. Rolling your eyes about this? Stop and pay attention. This is serious stuff. Just last Wednesday, I read an article by Lipscomb’s own Professor Debi Tate about the prevalence of texting and driving and...
