Article by Nick DeMent | Photography by Emily Snow | Owl Staff
Multitasking is something that our society has turned into an art. From singing while playing instruments, to indulgences such as eating, texting, and browsing Reddit all while watching TV, people really have made it an acquired skill. Recently, one sort of multitasking has been getting a lot of attention, and it’s not one to try yourself.
Everyone knows the dangers of texting and driving, but many ignore the facts. According to Car Insurance Comparison, 67 percent of people do it, and these are only the ones who admitted to the act. Nationwide says eight out of ten drivers support laws against texting and driving. This is sort of a mind bender; about 67 percent of people text and drive, yet eight out of ten want laws prohibiting it, so most of these folks who want justice are hypocrites themselves and likely to fall victim to their own laws in a form of sweet irony.
There are many instances of injuries and deaths caused by cell phone use behind the wheel.
HCC student Heather Hurd was killed by a driver who was texting. Harford Community College has created a 5K run in her name.
Reggie Shaw was heading to work when he killed Keith Patrick O’Dell and Jim Furfaro, a result of texting and driving. He says of the incident, “When I left that morning it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone. I took two lives.”
Jackie Furfaro, wife of Jim Furfaro, shares in a video interview found on the Internet, “I saw Jim’s license in the hand of the police officer, and I realized he was dead.”
These cases are tragedies that could easily have been avoided. The video interview of Furfaro is moving, and I would recommend it to anyone who has an interest or pull towards this subject.
Texting is a distraction that should be saved for stationary moments that don’t require massive amounts of attention, like when one is not commandeering a ton and a half piece of heavy machinery capable of ending a life in a split second.
“When I left that morning, it was definitely not my intention to hurt anyone…I took two lives.”
Reggie Shaw
Our better halves will probably not die if we wait to answer them, and personally, my friends never really have anything that important to say.
A human life is surely not worth an electronic message. Zooming around at 40 or 50 miles an hour in a big metal box is risky enough without distractions.