Life has its interesting moments. Ladue-Frontenac Patch was conducting an interview about the dangers of texting and being on a cellphone while driving with Frontenac Safety Officer Mike Baron when an emergency phone call came in.

“Gotta go, car upside down on Highway 40,” said Baron, scrambling to exit the building and jumping into his unmarked blue patrol car to quickly reach the scene of the rollover.

As it turns out, the accident victim crashed into the median barrier on the Highway 40 overpass westbound at Lindbergh Boulevard and came to a screeching halt after crossing three lanes of traffic and smacking into the guard rail. As fate would have it, the victim was on his cellphone at the time, and his inattention led to the accident. Fortunately for the driver, he emerged mostly unscathed and received emergency aid from Ladue paramedics on the scene.

It could have been much worse, even fatal.

Once the incident resolved itself, Baron, a member of the St. Louis County Accident Reconstruction team, returned to the interview the next day.

Has this situation reached epidemic proportions? Office Baron said no. Patrol officer Beth Davis of Olivette said yes.

Actually, Creve Coeur has enacted a catch-all ordinance, dealing with texting and cellphone calling while operating a motor vehicle.

Baron doesn’t take any of this personally. His preference would be for drivers in his community to exercise their best judgment while operating a vehicle and using electronic hand held devices.

“I’ve observed all kinds of violations. I constantly see drivers distracted with texting and calling while in heavy traffic,” he said.

He suggests if the call or text is so important, then pull over to a safe location off the road and then send those messages.

When people are on cellphones or texting, their attention level just diminishes, the traffic officer said.

His biggest concerns are the new drivers hitting the road with the devices in hand. He’s focused on students at St. Joseph’s Academy and Villa Duchesne in Frontenac and Ladue High School students going to and from school each day. “The main thing is the young drivers remember to click their seat belts once they are in the car. It takes just five seconds to do that, and it can take just five seconds to lose a life,” he said.

“My main hope is for the best public safety. There are alternatives we can use. Hands-free devices in cars (Bluetooth) are a logical first step. “Not only are drivers in danger, they endanger walkers on roadways and bicyclists, too,” he said. “Some of the accidents could be avoided. Most people are pretty honest about admitting they were distracted by a call or texting when it led directly to an accident,” he said.

Meanwhile, Patrolman Beth Davis, who will mark her seventh year on the Olivette force in April recalls some chilling experiences related to the two issues.

“We had a major three-car wreck recently in Olivette." Describing the outcome, Davis said "one driver rear-ended the car in front of her. That driver then admitted right away she was on a cellphone call which led to her inattentiveness. Luckily, no one was killed,” she said.

Davis is constantly pulling over teenage drivers who are texting while driving and not wearing seat belts.

She doesn’t deal directly with Ladue High School on this issue. “They have their own resource officer, and he’s the one who talks safety to them,” she said.

“Sometimes, its just very frustrating for us to get through traffic to reach a major accident. I’ve seen everything. I’ve seen drivers reading books and newspapers, texting, making phone calls. We pull up behind them, and they act so surprised before finally pulling over,” Davis said.

“Sometimes, with the tinted windows, it's hard to see what exactly is going on inside cars,” she said.

“If the driver has to send a text while moving, then have the passenger do it,” Davis said.

“When people have accidents, usually they will tell us, or we’ll find the cellphone on the running board of the car.”

Scott Small, the principal at Mary Institute Country Day School, deals with this issue constantly. “We have general conversations with our students about making good life decisions all year. They (the students) get specific thoughts on safety and driving from a variety of sources—speakers, their advisors and our deans cover similar issues around dances and the like. Our big focus with all of our students is the importance of always making decisions that preserve safety and integrity,” Small said.

There are a number of national safety surveys dealing with texting and cellphone calling while driving and several investigative pieces by national reporters.

AT&T has a special video message on this very subject.

Car and Driver Magazine looked at the dangers of texting while driving.

Dealing with cellphone call and driving safety,AAA conducted a survey, and here are the findings.