Would a No-Texting-and-Driving Law Stop You?

Missouri has a law that stop teens from texting and driving, but not adults. An AT&T survey says nearly of all adults admit to texting while driving. Do you?

It's been my experience after writing these kinds of articles for awhile that when it comes to technology issues, many commenters claim they aren't that savvy. They'll often claim they use the basic phones, never text, never watch TV—all of which I find hard to believe since they're obviously savvy enough to log onto a website, register and post a comment. I'm starting with a confession, and we'll see if anyone else is willing to 'fess up. I have texted in the car. When I've done it, it's been at stop lights and parking lots. And I'm not proud of it. I'm moved by the public service ads that have advocated against it. I remember the terrible accident on Highway 40 a few years ago when a tractor-trailer plowed into some cars because the …

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What Are The Dangers Of Driving While Texting, Calling On Cellphones

Police officers from Frontenac and Olivette have particular views of this situation.

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. …

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James Baer

5:00 pm on Monday, January 16, 2012

Erik, Wonderful insight to this plague. OTTER is a splendid idea.   more ›

Distracted Drivers Beware: NTSB Recommends Ban of All Portable Electronic Devices

MODOT says commercial motor vehicle drivers will be banned from using hand-held mobile phones while driving on Jan. 3, and it may be just a matter of time before the ban is applied to all drivers.

After it announced on Monday that a fatal multi-vehicle crash in 2010 might have been related to a driver texting, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it would hold a Tuesday morning meeting to determine the probable cause of the crash and consider proposed safety recommendations. The crash in question happened in Gray Summit (southwest of St. Louis) and affected several vehicles and more than 40 people. It included two fatalities and 38 injuries, NTSB said in a press release. “This crash involved a series of collisions; first, a pickup truck struck the back of a stopped truck-tractor,” said the release. “Following that, a school bus struck the back of the pickup truck and finally, the first school bus was struck in the …

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Teen Talk With Carrie

Face-to-Face Value

An investigation of text-based communication

People are constantly arguing that no one talks face-to-face anymore, what with texting, instant messaging, and social networking sites.  Is technology creating a separation between friends and family members? Some people may say that Facebook actually helps them keep in touch with old friends.  Someone may pop up on their news feed and they will realize that they haven’t talked to said person in a while, prompting a nice “hey, how’s it going?” wall post.  Even if the two people live in the same city, though, it rarely leads to a get-together. Now texting. Oh, the controversy.  When faced with the question, “Why text when you can call?” many people are stumped.  The obvious reasons are when people are in school.  We are all fully aware …

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Girl Talk! Seminar a Big Hit in Ladue

Mothers and daughters gather at Ladue Chapel to discuss issues with author and social worker Carrie Silver-Stock.

On February 16, about 50 mothers and daughters gathered in the Fellowship Hall at Ladue Chapel Presbyterian Church for "Girl Talk!," a workshop led by author and social worker Carrie Silver-Stock, MSW, LCSW. "Ladue Chapel is trying to have at least one community event per quarter," said Elizabeth Southern, chair of the adult education committee at the church. "At our Family Matters group, what tween and teen girls are facing with technology has been a topic of discussion." The free workshop was specifically geared towards tween and teen girls and their mothers, and designed to help open the lines of communication between them. "I think it's just really, really hard to be a girl," Silver-Stock said at the beginning of the workshop. This …

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Girl Talk Workshop This Wednesday at Ladue Chapel

Well Known Author, Speaker Carrie Silver-Stock Will Conduct Workshop for Teens, Tweens & Their Moms.

Girl Talk will be featured this Wednesday evening (Feb. 16) at Ladue Chapel. This workshop, free and open to the public will begin at 6:30 p.m. in Fellowship Hall and is sponsored by the Ladue Chapel Adult Education Committee. The committee has brought in teen expert and renown speaker and author Carrie Silver-Stock to lead this lively session. The workshop has been designed for moms, their teens and tween daughters. The goal of the workshop is creating a foundation of trust and a bond between mothers and their children. A wide range of topics will include how to keep safe with technology-both off and online; how to deal with cyber bullying, texting and how to deal with the secrets girls keep. Silver-Stock, MSW, LCSW is an expert in this …

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Too Much Texting? Ladue Weighs in on the Modern Messaging Method

Students and administrators at Ladue High School and MICDS share their thoughts on the technological phenomenon.

Sending text messages, or "texting," as most people are referring to it these days, has become especially popular with high school students. Some use it as a quick way of communicating with close friends and family members, while others might be seen as using it as a crutch for social interaction. Three of the four students I interviewed at Ladue Horton Watkins High School and the upper school at Mary Institute and Country Day School (MICDS) said they send on average at least 20 texts a day. "Sometimes, it's none at all. Sometimes it's 70," said Will Stupp, MICDS junior. When it comes to why texting is so prevalent among high school students, two words immediately spring to mind for these students: "It's easy." "It's just a short thing," …

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