Texting And Driving? EGHS Students Sign Pledge Saying NO

The "Txtng & Drivng ... It Can Wait" campaign came to the high school last week.

Dozens of high school sophomores signed the "It can wait" pledge last Wednesday, part of a campaign by Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Kilmartin to convince young people, those on the cusp of getting their license, to not text and drive. The fact is, most kids and adults know texting while driving is dangerous. Sadly, many of us – that's right, us – do text and drive, despite knowing better.  One student who signed the pledge told me, "My dad texts and drives all the time. He gets tickets all the time. I would hate to see him go through something like this." The "this" is living with the knowledge his actions caused a crash ... or perhaps not living at all.  Sobering stuff. We could all use the message. To read more about the "It Can …

•  1 Comment
• Videos (1)

State Police Add Patrols Through Jan. 1

They will be stepping up enforcement for speeding, driving while impaired, aggressive driving, texting violations, seat belt, and child restraint violations.

Rhode Island State Police Colonel Steven G. O’Donnell announced today that during the upcoming New Year’s holiday, the Rhode Island State Police will have additional patrols throughout the state. The force will be stepping up enforcement for speeding, driving while impaired, aggressive driving, texting violations, seat belt, and child restraint violations. These patrols are in addition to regular patrols and are targeting impaired and reckless operators. The goal is to make our highways safer and everyone’s New Year a happy and memorable one, O'Donnell said in a release.   During the holiday weekend, there is an expected an increase in the volume of traffic along the highways throughout the state. Motorists can immediately report …

• Photos (2)

Rants and Raves

Walking & Texting? Look Up For Heaven's Sake!

What to love and loathe about living in East Greenwich this week.

RAVE: I never met Henry Boezi personally. We didn’t travel in the same circles. But you couldn’t live in East Greenwich for long without hearing about Henry. Reading his obituary, I was struck by all the things he gave his time, resources and passion to: the Town Council, School Committee Buildings, Public Works, Character Counts and Little League are just few. Whoa – talk about a full life! The man was everywhere! He was tirelessly involved in so much of what makes our town a good place to live that it wouldn’t be too out there to suggest we name the town – or at least a street – after him. Oops, there already is one –  Boezi Circle at Hanaford. We talk a lot about the value that volunteerism brings to small towns throughout the country…

•  1 Comment
• Photos (2)

POLL: Should Cell Phone Use When Driving Be Banned Completely?

The National Transportation Safety Board thinks so; what do you think?

The National Transportation Safety Board's recommendation yesterday for all 50 states and the District of Columbia to "ban the nonemergency use of portable electronic devices ... for all drivers" has generated a lot of publicity and discussion. While most people agree that cell phone use while driving can be dangerous, a complete ban strikes even some of those ardently opposed to texting while driving as unrealistic. "Society is not ready for that if we can't even get all 50 states to agree to outlaw texting," said lawyer Michael Bottaro, who has blogged for EG Patch about the need for people to stop texting while driving. He noted that there are still 15 states that have not outlawed texting while driving. "We still have a large part of …

•  6 Comments
• Photos (1)