Take The Pledge To Be A Safe Driver

Hello, my name is Chelsea Krost. I am guilty of texting while driving and having some
bad road rage. (In my defense, I live in Los Angeles— which explains the occasional
road rage!)

Just two weeks ago, I got into my first car accident. Let me tell you…it was petrifying.
I was making a left hand turn across a three lane intersection. Of course, I waited for
all the cars to come to a complete stop before making my turn left. As my car started to creep into the third lane…WHAM…a woman plowed into my car and set me on a 90 degree spin.

I may have confessed to texting and driving in the past, but it wasn’t a factor in this
accident. My eyes were on the road, and I was completely focused on making a safe
left turn. Now I understand what my parents said to me when I first got my license,
“We trust you as a driver, it is the other people on the road that we worry about.”
Unfortunately, my cute white EOS Volkswagen took a hit, but thankfully I walked away with only minor whip-lash.

Transportation reported that “Cell phones are involved in some 1.6 million automobile – related accidents annually — which cause some 500,000 injuries and leads
to the deaths of some 6,000 each year.”

Millennials, me included, are fantastic at texting and multi-tasking. But driving and
texting can be a deadly combination. According to a study conducted by Utah
University, “reaction time of a teenage driver who is using his/her cellphone is the same as a 70-year-old driver who is not using one.”

Texting or reading a text typically takes about 4.6 seconds. If you’re driving 65 mph
that equates to driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Unfortunately,
sometimes we don’t realize the consequences of certain actions until something bad
happens.

I’ve been guilty of texting and driving in the past, but I’ve learned from my mistake. I
took the pledge to drive safe today. Will you join me?

Join me in taking the pledge to drive safe and tweet and share the pledge
with your friends, family, and followers. The impact and awareness we can
spread together could create less accidents and even save lives. I promise
to Re-tweet those who tweet the link to their pledge and tag @chelseakrost
and @Progressive with the #DriveSafeToday hashtag.

Click Here To Take The Pledge
#landing

Quick Tip: Contrary to the familiar 10 and 2 o’clock position you may have learned in driver’s ed, it’s now recommended that drivers place their hands at 9 and 3. Why? Your vehicle’s air bag.

Disclosure: I’ve teamed up with Progressive for their Drive Safe Today Day initiative. Although I’ve been compensated for my post, the thoughts and ideas are my own.