Just because you have a driver’s license does not mean you know how to drive. Yes, I understand that you have approval by the state of wherever your license was issued, but that may not mean you truly “know how to drive.”

Have you ever been walking around campus and almost been hit because the driver of the vehicle was talking on their cell phone, laughing with their friends or flat-out just not paying attention? Even better, have you ever been in your car and someone almost hits you either because they are speeding or they are talking on their phone?

People must not realize that when you speed you reduce the control that you have over the vehicle. You lower your ability to steer and make it harder for yourself to bring the vehicle to a complete stop. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, on average a pedestrian is killed in a traffic crash every 113 minutes and injured in a traffic crash every eight minutes.

Yesterday, I was walking down the Boulevard trying not to be blown away by the monstrous winds when a black four-door Mercedes C230 Sport Sedan came zooming down Bishop Boulevard and nearly ran me over. As she approached the stop sign, the passenger of the vehicle pointed to the driver to stop or else I would have been scrapping the pavement. As I walked past the vehicle, scared that she may take off at any moment, because she was inching her car towards me, she never apologized for almost ending my life. As I made it safely to the other side, she pushed her foot on the gas and zoomed down the street, almost hitting yet another innocent SMU student at the next stop sign.

According to the NHTSA, every 10 seconds someone in the United States is involved in a car accident. The economic cost to society for speeding related accidents is estimated to be about $40.5 billion a year, according to NHTSA. In 2004, 13,192 lives were lost in speeding-related accidents.

A good friend of mine was driving in the parking lot behind McElvaney Hall, looking for a parking space, when a Jeep Grand Cherokee came cruising around the parking lot. The driver of the SUV was a woman who was on her phone doing at least 30 mph. She did not see my friend until it was almost too late. The young woman only stopped because she heard my friend blowing her horn. She only tapped my friend’s car and did not leave any scratches. She apologized for driving so out of control and blamed it on talking on her cell phone.

Some more statistics provided by NHTSA include that in 2004, 13.6 percent of all drivers involved in fatal crashes were between the ages of 15 and 20. Also in 2004, it was reported that 86 percent of speeding related fatalities occurred on roads that were not interstate highways.

People, the speed limit on the Boulevard is 20 mph. Please slow down. If you are speeding because you are late to a class, then please leave earlier; if you are speeding for fun, please go to a race track. Pay attention when you are behind the wheel. I feel that this should already be understood. If you are not able to multitask, then just stick to one or the other. Either drive or talk on the phone, but please, for the sake of other people’s lives don’t do both at the same time.

I would hate to see a police report in The Daily Campus about someone injuring a fellow SMU student because they hit them with their car.

Chane’ Waldron is a junior economics major. She may be contacted at jwaldron@smu.