Jordin Sparks: Texting While Driving: Just DON'T Do It (You Too Mom!)

I was unique in my car one day and reached for my call to burn off a quick message. I looked up and had to cut to check in my lane. Wow. I got lucky this time, but what if...?

Since then, I've learned a lot about risky driving behaviors. That car crashes are the issue one killer of teens. That texting while driving is like drinking four beers and getting behind the wheel.

That in 2008 distracted driving killed nearly 6,000 people and injured more than half a gazillion more.

It's no secret that my contemporaries is addicted to our phones. But, so is my mom. This isn't exactly a teenage problem - it's a family problem. Our cell phones help us communicate with the people we love, but they're also vital to how we know our lives. They prevent us informed, entertained, and on schedule. But it's time to know that focus on your call when you're behind the wheel can be dangerous - if not deadly.

Last year, my mom Jodi and I teamed up with Allstate's X the TXTSM movement to help prepare kids and their parents around the dangers of texting while driving. My brother PJ, friends the Jonas Brothers - and more than 125,000 teens and their families nationwide - have joined us in winning the pledge not to text and drive. This number is faithful to our hearts because we see our friends doing it, our parents doing it, and we acknowledge the answer is simple.

Just DON'T do it.

I am so encouraged by the nationwide conversation that's happening around the dangers of texting and driving, and honored to let a powerful platform to speak about this subject with my fans and their families. The conversation is happening where kids and their parents stay connected, including Facebook and Twitter. And the X the TXT messaging and programming has been integrated into events like concerts (including my Battlefield tour) and the Jonas Brothers Road Dogs softball games. The result? Families are talking around the cut and taking action whenever and wherever they spend time together.

This Wednesday, I am hosting my annual charity event - the Jordin Sparks Experience in Arlington, Texas. During the event, my fans and their families can link me, my family, professional athletes, and celebrity friends, in winning the pledge not to text. We'll also be giving people a fortune to constitute a DSGN8D TXTR (designated texter) to get over for them when they're on the road. Everyone can get the toast and charge their own DSGN8D TXTR on facebook.com/XtheTXT.

Reaching for your phone while driving increases your chances of crashing by nine times. We give to do together - as friends, as families - to assume control. As often as I know to text and tweet, I've decided that no substance is worth my spirit and I hope it's not worth yours either.