Some references are made to individuals from a texting while driving documentary. Click here for the documentary.
Three Barbie dolls are sold.
Six babies are born.
Over 10,000 Coca Cola’s are consumed.
Lightning strikes six times.
Cell phones are a known factor in 27% of all car crashes. A statistic that has been rising for the last three years in a row. AT&T research shows that 70% of smartphone users are on their phones while driving. Notice I said “on their phones," not specifically texting.
I will admit it; I am guilty of checking my phone behind the wheel. Like most people, I’ve been under the impression that nothing is going to happen because it’s just one quick text. One quick Snapchat. One quick tweet that’s so funny and I’ll forget it by the time I park. It’s just one second of glancing down, then my eyes are right back on the road.
A driver can safely glance away from the road for two seconds while operating a motor vehicle. On average, it takes five-second intervals of glancing down and back up to send a text.
Texting while driving isn’t the only concern anymore. 61% of drivers use their phones while driving. Of those, 17% take pictures or selfies. 14% post on Instagram. 11% take Snapchats and 12% take videos. Does anyone really send a Snapchat without looking at it first? So our eyes are off the road not only as we take the snap, but as we look at the picture or video, give it a caption, and find the person in our best friends list we’re sending it to.
Imagine living a life the way Chandler Gerber does today. Living with the guilt that his “I love you” text cost three innocent people their lives. Imagine waking up every day knowing you are responsible for taking three people away from their families.
What does it take in order for the message to truly sink in? Does it take being the cause of a deadly accident to make us change our ways? For me, it took videos, public service announcements, and speeches to change my mind. I want to focus on the distracted driving that isn’t related to texting. Although texting and driving is incredibly dangerous, I’d like to address all of the other deadly distractions our society now faces as technology advances.
I know what you’re thinking: when you take a Snapchat, it’s a picture of you looking at the road, no caption, and you know exactly where the buttons are, so you don’t even need to look down. Great, good for you! As a matter of fact, you deserve an award. So you didn’t look down as you took the picture. Don’t tell me you didn’t glance down for a split second to check the name on your best friends list. You’re driving with one hand while holding your phone and deciding that your Snapchat is more important than someone else’s life. Or how about when that person replies? I mean, the only way to know what their response is, is to look down and see the picture and read the caption. And it’s only there for 10 seconds at most, so you better look and don’t take your eyes off it until you’ve read it all.
What about that tweet? You know, that one you thought of last night but decided to wait until today to tweet it so it would get more attention? You’re going to have to look down to type it, tweet it, and check how quickly it’s getting noticed. How quickly will you notice the little kid playing in the street a foot in front of you?
Next, Instagram. I get it, there’s definitely such a thing as prime Instagram time. You know, those few hours in a day where you’re guaranteed the most amount of likes. So if you happen to be driving when you remember that you absolutely have to post that tbt right now, you’re not going to pull over to post it. Instead, you’ll scroll through your camera roll, choose a filter, type a caption, and find the perfect emoji, all while your eyes look to and away from the road. I know, I know, the picture can’t wait!! It’s such a great shot of you when you were 5 at the beach mooning the camera and you know you’ll get the most number of likes you’ve ever gotten. But in looking at different filters, cropping it so it looks just right, and making sure there aren’t any spelling mistakes, you’ve put hundreds of lives at risk. Including your own.
That leads me to my final point. Injury. Self-harm is a real thing. I won’t go too far into detail, but it happens every day. 330,000 injuries per year are related to a distracted driving incident. You could be among them. You could be doing it to yourself. Suppose you are driving while super distracted and it leads to an accident. No one is killed, but the injuries you could create are endless. Not only could you injure a pedestrian, another passenger in another car, you could also seriously injure yourself. Maybe you’re alone in the car and there’s no one else around. You drive off the road and into a tree. No one else is involved, but the injuries you might have just brought upon yourself are grave. Again, maybe no one else is involved, but killing yourself isn’t impossible. Your family will set a place for you at the table still, wishing you’d come back. Your team will honor your number and what a great player you were and the potential you had. Your friends will save a seat at lunch, hoping maybe, just maybe, it was just a nightmare. Your little sister will peak into your room and hope you’ll be sitting there doing makeup like you did every morning. Your older brother will speak out about the dangers of distracted driving and get teared up every time.
Imagine being the reason Xzavier’s mom can no longer tell him to go and play outside, because his wheelchair confines him to his house and his ventilator must always be plugged in order for him to breathe. You didn’t kill him, but you took Xzavier’s life. You took his football potential. You took him from playing with his friends. You took him from holding his sisters hand when he crosses the street. You took his life.
Or what about Debbie, who broke her neck, both arms, ribs, ankle, and leg. Whose pelvis was shattered and who almost lost a finger. Imagine being responsible for the everlasting damage that Debbie is left with. Debbie, who doesn’t even remember the accident, attempt to console her family because, since she doesn’t remember it, all she can do is move forward and help her family to do the same.
Three Barbie dolls are sold.
Six babies are born.
Over 10,000 Coca Cola’s are consumed.
Lightning strikes 6 times.
Distracted driving takes a life. These are all things that happen in the matter of a single second.
Now I’d like to leave you with this: you can accept or reject everything I’ve just told you. You can go on driving while distracted and hoping for the best. Or you can put your phone in the cup holder while you’re driving, face down so you won’t be tempted. You can arrive safely at your destination, and enjoy every moment of life, without cutting a life, yours included, short.
