A First Hand Lesson

Texting and Driving

Heidi Deary, daughter of Dan Deary, owner of Capitol Collision Repair, a Phoenix auto body shop, understands the importance of no texting while driving.

As a teenager, I know what it’s like to have the joys of communicating with family and friends. Talking about anything ranging from what we did yesterday to the newest scoop. It can seem a bit monotonous, hearing your parents say, “Don’t text and drive,” nearly every time we enter the car. However, I have a newfound appreciation for those words after my experience in an auto accident with someone who was not paying attention to the road, but to their phone.

On what I thought was a regular school day, I was on my normal, daily commute to college. At the sight of a construction sign, cautioning motorists that the right lane was closed, I decided to merge into the left lane. Before merging, I noticed that the driver of the car in the left lane was using her cell phone. Consequently, after I merged, I was stopped at the red light. I couldn’t prepare myself for what happened next.

At the thunderous sound of crashing metal, I was propelled into the car in front of me.

As a result of being rear ended, the car in front of me was also pushed into the car in front of him. I finally got to see the “domino effect” in action. The driver of the vehicle who rear-ended me did not apply her brakes at all and hit me at full impact. Fortunately, nobody was seriously injured.

Emotions were high that day, being that it was my first accident. After the accident, my mother asked me, “Now what can you take from this, what can you learn?” After some thought, I finally figured it out. I learned that no text is worth getting into an accident. I learned that two seconds with your eyes off the road is too long. I learned that vehicles can be dangerous, if not used appropriately. I also learned that I’m very fortunate. The accident could have had a scarier ending; I’ll take a sore back and a sore neck any day.

A life is too precious to be taken away because someone can’t resist the urge to use their cell phone while operating a vehicle. I have been guilty of using my cell phone while driving but as a result of this accident, I am proud to say that my cell phone is out of sight, out of mind. Texts, calls, tweets, all of it can wait. Think about what you and others have to live for and think twice, next time you think about using your cell phone or electronic devices while behind the wheel.

About the author: Heidi Deary is the daughter of Dan Deary, president of Capitol Collision Repair, one of the largest, independent body shops in Phoenix, now in their 27th year in business.

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