Gary Barg, Editor-in-Chief
Each March for the past eleven years, I have taken a moment to reflect upon a senseless tragedy which took place in September 2009 on a dark roadway in northern Minnesota. I can recount the date and place so very easily because that was the night we lost a bright light who was just coming into her own, Sara Kaufman. The reason for reflecting in March is that Sara and I have a shared birthday of the Ides of March.
Recently I re-watched a YouTube video of an instructor on a secure driving course giving driving exams. He told his students whose ages ranged from 18 to 58 years of age that an important part of their test was to drive while texting. Every single one of them failed the course and took out a great many orange cones, as well.
If only the driver behind Sara that dark evening nine years ago was paying attention to the road and not her cell phone, I am positive the world would have been a better place for Sara’s bright light continuing to shine. She was on the way to doing some amazing things.
This message against distracted driving is especially important to family caregivers, as we race from crisis to crisis. It is all too easy to take just a moment to make or respond to a text, but just a moment is all it takes to destroy lives. I feel as I have become a bit of a curmudgeonly advocate against distracted driving, as I do know the pull of the cell phone while driving all too well. In fact, I try and make sure my phone is on the passenger seat or in the glove box while driving just to remind me of the danger of that one short text.
According to distraction.gov, distracted driving claimed 23,000 lives from 2012-to 2018.
No matter what the message; a shared cat video, Facetiming with the grandkids, a smiling emoji or even an important reminder note you just must send that very instant, trust me, as well as Sara’s family and her other loved ones. It can wait.
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