So I’m driving into the entrance to the parking garage here at Broadcast House this week, and I have to wait because there’s a girl stopped on the sidewalk, standing absolutely still, phone in hand, thumb moving rapidly. She is clearly texting someone – and so absorbed in what she’s doing, she doesn’t realize she’s picked a spot of sidewalk to stop that is also driveway.

When she finally does realize what she’s done, she blushes and waves and runs off, and I pull into the garage and go on about my business. No harm done. This time.

I think it just proves the point – texting is as conscious and involved an activity as reading. You may think you can do it without looking, but your attention is divided – there’s no way you could focus fully on the task at hand, whether it’s driving or walking or something else.

Lots of stories in the news this week about this exact topic – but for me, seeing one student stopped in the middle of a driveway on a busy morning was a serious wake-up call, if not for her, definitely for me. Thanks for the object lesson, kid!