Texting While Driving Ban

It’s against the law to text while driving in 30 states. Many people know this, but quite a few ignore it. In fact studies show that there are more crashes as a result of texting while driving than before the bans went into effect.

Texting has become a priority to some and an addiction to others. Rather than pulling over to safety most simply lower their phones and try to hide the fact that they are texing. This causes an even greater distraction. According to studies a person’s eyes are off the road about 3 seconds while texting. To give you a better idea of how long 3 seconds is, compare it to the size of a football field. If you text while driving, your hand is off of the steering wheel and you are looking at your phone for the time it takes to travel 100 yards from one goal post to the other. This is definitely enough time for an accident to occur.

In 2007 the first of several states passed a law against distracted driving. Yet in 2009 there were approximately 5,500 senseless deaths caused by people who were distracted while driving. Although this statistic may include other distractions, such as eating, changing radio stations or cds, applying make up, shaving, attending to children, talking on cell phones, or even changing clothes, evidence shows that car crashes involving texting is on the rise.

Texting while driving is not only a concern for individuals. It may also hit the corporate pocket where it really hurts. About 50% of employees admit to texting or emailing while driving on company time. If the employee causes a death due to distracted driving, the employer may also be sued.

The urge to keep your hands off your phone while driving has been compared to an alcoholic who tries to stop drinking. Both have devastating consequences and often require outside intervention. Fortunately, there’s an app for the person who just can’t control the urge to text.

Zoomsafer (http://zoomsafer.com) has products for teens, employers, or anyone else who wants help in overcoming the texting while driving craze. This application locks the phone while the car is being driven, making it impossible to text or use the handset. Currently the app is available for download on BlackBerry and Windows Mobile. Zoomsafer is also working on an app for the Android.

Most of us consider ourselves to be law-abiding citizens. It’s time to heed the dangers of texting and take the ban seriously. Make safety a priority or the text that you just couldn’t wait to send may be the last time anyone hears from you.

About the Author
Margie Franklin believes in the Rich Dad/Poor Dad philosophy: Own an internet business and your income potential is unlimited. Work for someone else and lifetime earnings are limited. You can learn more about mobi apps from Margie Franklin by visiting her blog at Home Biz Diva

Don’t Become a Crime Victim

In this day and age it’s rare to turn on a tv without seeing some type of crime show. There’s Law and Order SVU, Law and Order Criminal Intent, CSI Miami, CSI New York, Criminal Minds, Monk, The Mentalist, NCIS, and Cold Case, just to name a few.

The public seems to crave this type of show and the networks know it. Have you ever stopped to wonder what the attraction is? Fear, weird fascination for bloody murder scenes, or is it just the sense of relief felt when the criminal is caught and ultimately brought to justice?

Whatever the reason, it’s important that we discern fiction from reality. There are real criminals out there. Thieves, rapists, and murderers. All just waiting and watching for just the right moment to pounce and make you their prey. Don’t become a crime victim.

Here are a few tips to help you become more aware of where these criminals like to lay in wait for their victims.

Driving Alone

Stalking people who are driving alone is one of the oldest and most used ways criminals seek out their victims. Case in point. A young lady was driving home when the stop light turned red. While she was sitting at the light a man knocked on her window and she rolled it down. Why? Because she was close to home, felt very safe and secure in her own neighborhood, and the police station was just a few blocks away. At the same time that this young lady began rolling down her window, a thug opened the back door of the car and pointed a gun at her. These men grabbed her, pulled her out of the car, and threw her to the ground. Although her body was badly bruised and her SUV was stolen, she was considered lucky. Most car jackers carry weapons and are violent. Often times these crimes result in the victim’s death.

Running on Empty

We all hate to take time to fill up our gas tanks. Guess what, criminals know this too. So they lay in wait, hoping a procrastinator is running on empty and will soon be forced to fill up her tank in the dark of the night. Although gas stations are well lit, the perpetrators often wait in their cars until locating the perfect victim. This will be someone, traveling alone, who decides to go inside the gas station for coffee or a bathroom break. When the intended victim returns to her car, the perpetrator jumps out of his car with a gun and forces the victim into her own vehicle. He’s then in full control. He forces his victims to withdraw money from the ATM, rape her, sometimes more than once, and later discards his victim when he’s done. Of course, no one may suspect that you’re missing for awhile. This gives your assailant time to return to the gas station and retrieve his vehicle.

Car Break Down

Criminals are very clever when it comes to tricking the intended victim into believing that her car has a serious problem. He will follow you for awhile to make sure you’re driving alone. Then he’ll start making gestures to indicate that you have a broken tail light or a flat tire.

Once you stop your car the predator pulls over too and convinces you that he’s there to help. He seems friendly and truly concerned about you and your safety. After you begin to trust him, he reveals his real purpose and you become his next victim.

Always keep in mind, that a person who is flagging you down may have an ulterior motive. If you suspect that your car really does have something wrong with it try to pull over in a highly populated area. Call AAA for assistance and don’t get in the car with the “Good Samaritan” who just happened to be driving by. If you suspect anything call 911 immediately. Let your loved ones know where your are.

Never agree to go somewhere alone with a stranger. He may have a whole different agenda for being nice to you, especially if he approaches you after finding you stranded in a remote area. Be smart and put into practice all of the things that you were taught about safety. Carry protection and be prepared to use it.
You’re family loves you and trusts that you’ll make the right decisions when traveling alone.

Parking Lots/Parking Garages

Rapist and thieves lurk in parking lots and garages because they know that inevitably a woman will come along. They anticipate that she’ll be exhausted from a long day at work or perhaps will have her hands full from shopping. They like it when the person they are stalking is talking on a cell phone as this distracts her and keeps her from hearing any noise he may make. Cell phones tend to give people a false sense of security.

One such case I read about involved a teacher who was walking to her car after school. She had parked her car in a parking lot that was 2 blocks away. She was weary from the long exhausting day and just wanted to get home and relax. As she was about to get in her car, a teenager jumped in the back seat and held a gun to her head. He forced her to drive to the ATM, made her withdraw a large sum of cash, and then had her drive to a remote area where he raped her in her car.

Rest Stops

Time and time again you’ve been told not to go to certain places alone. But when given a choice you throw caution to the wind. This is especially true when traveling alone and you’re weary from the long drive or you feel the need to relieve your bladder.

Many think that rest stops are a safe haven to take a break, have lunch, or use the bathroom when driving across the country. Predators feel safe here too. It’s a perfect place for a shady character to strike up a conversation with someone and seemingly befriend her. When her guard is down the assailant over powers his victim.

This apparently happened to one young lady who had packed up her car and her two dogs, kissed her mom & dad goodbye and was traveling to her new home. She was excited to be relocating and felt like she was starting on a new adventure. Later, this young lady’s two dogs were found roaming around at a rest stop and her disheveled body was discovered in a ditch.

Be cautious, travel with a companion when possible, and stay alert. Refrain from being on your cell phone when walking to your car. Talking on the phone gives you false security. You believe if an assailant is nearby he won’t harm you because help is on the other line. The exact opposite is true. Predators like to target a woman who is chatting on her phone because her guard is down. She is focused on her conversation and may not hear any noise made by him as he sneaks up to attack her.

These are just a few examples of where predators like to find their victims. If you take heed to these tips they could prevent you from becoming tomorrow’s next top news story.