Multiple members of my family shared an extremely powerful video with me on Facebook over the weekend. It brought to light the importance of paying attention to the road and not using your phone while driving. The person behind the camera asks several teenagers if and what they use their phone for while driving. Their answers may surprise you. Immediately after their responses, a woman enters the room. She is unable to use the entire left side of her body. Why?

Because someone was using their phone while they were driving. They weren’t paying attention to the road like they should have and they hit her car. Not only was she severely injured, but she lost both of her parents in the collision. Her story, as told in the video, will undoubtedly bring you to tears. If this isn’t reason enough to stop you from texting and driving, here is a story for you...

Merely two hours after I had watched this video, I received a call from my mom. She told me my dad had been in a car accident. He was returning home from working an extra shift at the local hospital as the police officer on duty in the emergency room. As he was pulling out of the parking lot, a car sideswiped his Yukon, and he flipped over three or four times from the impact.

The other driver (who did not have a license or insurance) flew through a stop sign and hit my dad’s car. His gigantic Yukon overturned, flipping three or four times, ultimately landing on the driver's side. My dad was sitting on the concrete with the rest of his body inside the car. He kicked through the windshield and, with the help of a passerby, made it out of the car. Somehow he came out of it with nothing but a scratch on his leg and some soreness.

My dad just happened to be lucky. I firmly believe there is a guardian angel watching over him. But this could happen to you. This could happen to anyone. According to the Association for Safe International Road Travel, “over 37,000 people die in road crashes each year” in the United States and “an additional 2.35 million are injured or disabled.” You do not want to be a part of either statistic.

The moral of the story is that it is so important for everybody to keep their eyes on the road and pay attention to their surroundings. My dad’s accident was not due to texting and driving, but rather the recklessness of an unlicensed driver. But could you imagine the damage if one, or both, were on their phones? Below are pictures of the damage to my dad’s car, as well as a picture of him in the hospital after the collision.

Thankfully, my dad made it out of that alive. Had he or the other driver been distracted by their phones, it may have been another story. I hope you decide to put your phone away and focus on what you are doing next time you get behind a wheel.

If not, you may prevent yourself or someone else from safely returning home to their family.

Keep your eyes on the road and put away your phones. It can wait.