Video: Turnipseed Talks Distracted Driving with Columbus Rotarians

[syndicaster id=’5578330′]

COLUMBUS, Miss. (WCBI) — Distractions behind the wheel can have deadly consequences. That’s the message from the Mississippi Highway Patrol.

MHP Public Information Officer Sgt. Criss Turnipseed today talked with the Columbus Rotary Club about the dangers of distracted driving.

Turnipseed says 70 teenagers died on Mississippi highways last year.

It’s one reason he takes this presentation to schools and talks with parents, reminding them how using cell phones can become dangerous while driving.

“The phones are fun, the apps are fun,” Turnipseed said. “It’s great to keep in touch with their friends and communicate and stuff. I try to show them the flip side of what can happen to them while they are driving, and I think it opens a lot of eyes.”

Turnipseed also stressed the importance of staying strapped in with a seat belt.