Oprah Winfrey: Text, Drive, Kill Somebody

She's made her living as the queen of talk, but Oprah Winfrey wants you zip it behind the wheel. Winfrey takes to the op-ed pages of the New York Times today to warn of the dangers of distracted driving, citing a 9-year-old girl killed "just 15 pedals from her front door" by a driver on a cell phone. And with 6,000 deaths in 2008, the problem is growing.

"All we have to do is hang up or switch off. It really is that simple," writes Winfrey. "Once we do that, not another son or daughter will have to die because someone was on the phone and behind the wheel—and just not paying attention. So starting from the moment you finish this article, and in the days, weeks and years that follow, give it up. And to those who feel like this is asking too much, think about your own child just 15 pedals from your front door. Struck down." (More Oprah stories.)