The other day I was driving in my town and I saw a car full of women all taking pictures of themselves including the driver! I understand that in today’s social media world that people want to document everything but I really couldn’t understand why they were taking pictures of themselves and each other.

The thing that was most troubling was the driver taking pictures while driving, she wasn’t stopped at a light this was in the flow of traffic around the times that school is dismissed. This is not a new thing! These self-portrait artists aren’t shy about sharing their photos. Instagram shows more than 3,727 posts under the #drivingselfie hashtag, more than 1,869 for the plural #drivingselfies, and more than 9,700 for #drivingtowork. Some users add the optimistic tag, #Ihopeidontcrash.

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Governments, law enforcement and safety groups have been pushing hard in recent months to raise awareness about distracted driving, with texting receiving the most attention. For today’s young drivers, smartphones are rarely out of sight, and each ping announcing a new message can be a siren song that’s hard to resist.

If motorists are caught taking self-photos while driving, they could receive a ticket. Using a phone while behind the wheel, unless tethered to Bluetooth or another hands-free system, is illegal under many state laws.

More than 3,300 deaths every year are caused by distracted driving, according to the Department of Transportation. Taking a photo, like checking a text, might take only a few seconds, but when a vehicle is in motion that’s enough time to cause a serious accident, safety experts say.

When you want to take what you feel is a very important picture PULL OVER! As always DRIVE SAFE