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Hickory Daily Record Editorial

Published: September 27, 2009

THUMBS UP to the Highway Patrol for taking the message on texting and driving to teenagers. The High Patrol sets up obstacle courses and, with golf carts, shows teens the danger of being distracted behind the wheel. If a teen driving the obstacle course "wrecks," the result is a golf cart running over an orange traffic cone. No harm. Real-time driving on the highway is not so forgiving. A distraction can mean serious injury or worse. Texting requires concentration. A driver can't text and drive with any degree of safety. Yes, you can divert your attention from straight ahead from time to time to observe other motorists and traffic activity. But those are momentary glances. Texting takes far too much attention away from driving. The Highway Patrol could give lectures or make a video, but neither is the same as showing teens what can happen if they lose the road because of an unsafe practice. It's a message all drivers should heed.

THUMBS UP to Litter Sweep and Big Sweep, two initiatives that make our towns and countryside more beautiful. Both involve volunteers picking up trash. Litter Sweep volunteers collect tons of trash off roadsides and in neighborhoods. Big Sweep volunteers remove refuse from river and lake shorelines and even haul garbage out of the water. Thoughtless people litter with abandon, spoiling the view for others. Armies of volunteers spend hours trying to undo the damage and clean up after the slobs. They do a great job in their effort to keep North Carolina clean and beautiful. We can't understand why people toss out their trash on roadsides or into lakes and rivers. We give them THUMBS DOWN, and wish they cared about our environment. We are grateful for all those who do the right thing and treat waterways and the countryside as treasures.