Have you ever talked on your phone while driving? There is a good chance that your answer is
yes, just as it would be for millions Americans. Here is a bigger question, do you text while you
are driving? If you answered yes, please
take a minute to learn about the many dangers surrounded around this topic.
I must admit that I am not an expert when it comes to
driving safety however Shelby County Sheriff Lester Haynes is the leading
expert here in the Memphis area. Officer
Haynes provided a group of local au pairs with an informative and impressive
presentation focused on safety while driving at the Germantown home of Kelcie
Phillips.
Did you know that if you text while driving, you are 23
times more likely to be involved in an accident? With just this one fact alone, the au pairs
found themselves asking many questions not only about texting while driving but
more general driving safety questions that differ here in the United States from
their home countries.
Anja Pawlik of Germany was stunned to find out that not all
States have the same laws about talking on the phone and texting while
driving. Anja said, “In Germany, no one
is allowed to talk on their phone at all.
If you are caught talking or texting on your phone for any reason, you will
be pulled over and a ticket is written”.
Officer Haynes did a great job of explaining how laws are very different
here in the US and encouraged the women to put their phones down while driving.
Officer Haynes’ presentation also included some very graphic
and startling video examples of what can happen when you are distracted while
driving. By the end of the presentation
many of the au pairs, including myself, were in tears. The videos showed vehicle destruction,
horrible accidents where people were killed and even more heart breaking to all
of us were the video clips where children were involved in the accidents. Dani Obregon of Argentina was a few minutes
late to the presentation due to an accident that occurred right in front of her
car which involved two other vehicles.
She was very shaken up by this and Officer Hanyes explained how according
to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 4 out of 5 accidents are
due to driver distraction.
Officer Haynes and I both gave examples of recent incidents
in neighborhoods where children were almost hit and killed due to the speed of
the vehicle and driver distraction.
Luckily no one was injured however it was a great reminder to the au pairs
that they need to really keep their eyes on the road at all times, especially
in their neighborhoods and when they have the children they care for in the car
with them.
Au Pair Care knows and understands that child safety is a major
concern for American parents, especially when they are considering child care
providers. One of the questions I get asked a lot is how can they be sure
their au pair is well trained to ensure their child’s safety?
One of the ways we have decided to address this question is by
introducing our new SafetyCare Training Program. This program provides all Au
Pair Care au pairs with CPR and First Aid certification training by the
American Heart Association – a major differentiator in the au pair space.
It also provides au pairs with enhanced safety training skills in the
categories of driving, household and ongoing child care safety.
In closing, our SafetyCare Training program was very
impactful for these young women and the last fact that Officer Haynes left us
with was this, “Talking on the phone while driving is illegal in Memphis and
Shelby County, and texting is illegal in the entire State of Tennessee”. Think twice before you pick up your phone to
talk or text while you are driving, I know I will from this point on!
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Germantown, Collierville, Cordova, Bartlett, Jackson, Olive Branch, Southaven,
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