Texting AND Talking whilst driving

Cloth snap together quilted towels found at Scott County Recycling Center - cool!

And this means you daughter and husband 'o mine. I met today with Laura Fiffick of the Campbell Institute and Kathy Morris, Executive Director of the Waste Commission of Scott County. I've known and worked with Kathy for many years, first as peers (kinda - she's got a lot more, shall we say assets than I ever did in Creston) and now in our DNR/stakeholder relationship. She's a go-getter and her organization is a can-do one, and highly respected across the state. Plus she's warm and has an infectious laugh - and that girl can talk, rapid fire!

I got to know Laura in 2009 when she worked for a consulting firm that DNR hired to work on one of my main projects - Environmental Management Systems (EMS). I quickly grew to like and admire her. Laura had experienced setting up an EMS at Dallas and the Port of Houston. So she had real life experience, that quickly won over all of those going through the Pilot year of training in this new and somewhat complex system.

Late in 2011, Laura dropped the bomb on my that she was leaving GS&P, the consulting firm, to take the job of a lifetime - with Campbell Institute - a nonprofit for Environmental Health and Safety. She has to commute from her home in Dallas several weeks a month to Chicago, plus travel sometimes around the world to do this. But it sounds pretty cool. I believe Exxon Mobil is one of the funding companies for this non-profit.
Link to Campbell Institute website

Since safety is one of the top things the organization studies, Laura explained that they have adopted a no texting or even talking on cell phones (distracted driving) - even hands-free while driving policy. She said that is one of their major pushes because studies have shown time and time again how dangerous this activity is - even when your hands aren't engaged because your mind is. Books on CD don't count because they are not two-way conversations. Discussions with others in the car aren't the same because when people are with you they stop talking when road conditions deteriorate, unlike phone companions.

People who worry about getting skin cancer or whether or not they should get Botox should think a lot harder about whether or not they should be talking on the phone as much as they do while driving. And that commercial with the guy who has the head injury from texting should be ample to stop texters...never mind "It Won't Happen To Me." It can! And you're a lot more likely to die from that than other things many of us worry about.

I was listening to a good book on CD (John Sandford - try him) on the way to Davenport. Even though that activity is not dangerous according to Laura, I took the wrong turn in Davenport. But I've now been here enough I found my way to the recycling facility - a few minutes late but hey, I got to listen to the book a little longer! The Butler did it...haha

I enjoyed a nice lunch catching up with those two ladies, and then a working afternoon talking about environmental health and safety. I'm proud to be in a job that takes care of people and the environment! And I'm lucky to know two great women like Laura and Kathy.