Too distracted to see a gunman next to you? Time to put down the phone.

A very unfortunate story has been circulating the last few days regarding an incident in which a gunman (see image) on a San Francisco train shot and killed (seemingly at random), another passenger standing right next to him.

The tragedy is only compounded by the fact that there is a possibility that it could have been prevented, had only one of the many passengers surrounding the gunman on the crowded bus been paying attention to their surroundings. Disturbing  security footage from the bus shows that the gunman “pulled out a .45-caliber pistol, raised it, pointed it across the aisle, put it down and continued to pull it out multiple times, even wiping his nose with the handgun.”(Huffington Post).

 This incident is evidence of just how addicted we have become to our mobile devices: we are so engrossed in what is happening on a screen that we are blind to extreme danger only inches away. Some will say “But that was only a freak occurrence, what are the odds of something bad happening to me?” Well, the odds of putting yourself in danger due to cell phone distraction are pretty good if you are one of the many people in the United States who continue to text and drive.

Sure, you might not get shot, but THOUSANDS of people die every year in collisions resulting from distracted driving, not to mention countless injuries that are sustained as well. This shooting may be an isolated incident, but danger due to cell phone distraction is as ubiquitous as the cell phone itself.  Why would you let your phone stand between you and your safety? Let this serve as yet another somber reminder that letting your phone take so much of your attention that you lose awareness of your surroundings, even for an instant, can be a fatal mistake.

Too addicted to put the phone down while driving? Fear that a loved one might be? Install the ORIGOSafe™, a new device that requires you to dock your phone when you drive but still allows all handsfree use through Bluetooth, and stay both safe AND connected.