A child yelling from the back seat about the toy they dropped on the floor that they have to have right now, “Mommy can you get this?! I need it now!!!” Tears and full out meltdown ensuing…
The crazy screaming tantrums of siblings mid-travel over who’s not sharing the toy, cookie or an iPad.
The “Mommy, I have to pee or poop now,” followed by the “Its coming out…”
Some of our dreaded fears of things to hear while driving. Impossible to ever completely stop from happening, but with constant reminders to ourselves and setting up and talking about safety in the car with our loved ones, we can still improve and learn to remember to stay more focused and alert.
There are a million more scenarios that play out in our cars everyday, you know what I’m talking about! It’s endless! Well I’m here to remind you that most importantly, we need to focus on the road. We all need to hear this reminder from time to time. Momming is hard! We find ourselves in the daily grind of getting to school and work and extra-curricular activities, just trying to get it all done somehow, and it’s easy to drift out of focus. You are doing an amazing job, but let’s add another level of safety to our routine.
Here is your gentle reminder to remember to take a breath, and remember to focus on driving.
Lately, I’ve been reminding my kids when I get into the car about the importance of letting Mommy drive safe and focus on the road, and why its important that we wear our seat belts correctly and stop trying to take them off, (you know that little Houdini stage where they think its cool when they can get out of their car seat buckles).
April was Distracted driving awareness month. The (FLHSMV) FLORIDA HIGHWAY SAFTEY AND MOTOR VEHICLES website reminds us that “distracted driving is an extremely dangerous driving behavior that could turn deadly in an instant.” The FLHSMV Executive Director, Terry L. Rhodes goes on to tell us that, “Motorists should keep their eyes on the road, hands on the wheel and mind on driving to Arrive Alive.”
That “Arrive Alive” part gave me a chill, but its true, a good reminder of the precious cargo we carry with us in our cars everyday, and the ones around us. Remiding us of potential dangers of these real everyday distractions.
Did you know that “even a focused driver going 50 mph will travel nearly the length of a football field before coming to a complete stop.” (FLHSMV.gov)
Now the last thing I’m trying to do is create additional anxiety and stress on any mommas plate’s here, just wanted to share an important reminder to focus of driving to stay safe. We just have to hear it sometimes. Its mostly just me and my mini me’s in my car a majority of the time, so I don’t have anyone to ever observe or critique my driving skills.
I had just been on the FLHSMV website recently to renew my drivers license and had read through their Focused driving article. I was just so thankful for this reminder to really stop and think about this and look for things in my routine I could improve and make even safer. I just had to share this with other moms and families. Just a simple reminder to stay focused. We have a lot going on, but take a few extra minutes practice being more focus and think of ways to do that and talk to you’re little people of its importance. It’s not just about us being safe and alert drivers, it’s some of the other drivers around us that we need to steer clear of.
I found that discussing the importance of letting me focus while driving with my kids has helped us a lot. If they are acting up while watching their screen in the back, I shut it off until they can be more calm, and it has been working. It’s going to be hard no matter what, but just wanted to give you the friendly reminder to remind you to focus.
Florida is finally cracking down on the not Texting while driving law, especially in those school and work zones. We should all adapt better to these safety protocols now as they are becoming more strictly enforced and they have always been important to keep us safe.
There are many safe driver apps available that can disable the texting on your phone while driving. I has humbled to know the other day, when texted a friend, I got a text back saying they could not respond at the moment they were driving. I thought how awesome that was that I was saved from distracting them. so smart to have that safety feature in use. I think we can all benefit from that.
“Even beyond April, please keep your hands on the wheel.”
