"Faces of Distracted Driving" web video series tells the stories behind the statistics

Believe it or not, I wasn't always so outspoken about the dangers of distracted driving. Like a lot of folks, I just didn't give a lot of thought to it.

But that all changed as I met people from coast to coast who told me about the loved ones they lost in senseless crashes caused by texting and cell phone use behind the wheel. And it was their stories--of dreams shattered and lives cut short--that turned the fight to end distracted driving into my personal crusade.

These people have had a profound effect on me. And I think their stories will have a profound effect on you.

I'm proud to announce "Faces of Distracted Driving," a new online video series featuring people from across the country who have been injured or lost loved ones to distracted driving.  We're launching this today with three videos, and we'll add a new one every few weeks. 

We also invite others who would like to share their stories to post their own videos on YouTube and email a link to faces@distraction.gov.

Just last year, nearly 5,500 people were killed and 500,000 more were injured in distracted driving-related crashes.  But, these aren't statistics. They're children and parents, neighbors and friends.

There's 13-year-old Margay Schee, who boarded her school bus and never made it back home.

There's 58-year-old Julie Davis, who never got to meet her 14th grandchild.

And there's 16-year-old Ashley Johnson, whose dream of becoming a psychiatrist will never come true.

(From left to right) Margay Schee, Ashley Johnson, and Julie Davis.

These lives, and too many others like them, were cut short--not because of malice, but because of carelessness.  And the families they left behind understand the tragic consequences of distracted driving better than anyone.  They will all tell you the same thing: no text or phone call is worth the risk.

So, I hope you'll watch these videos. I hope you'll share them with the people you love. And I hope you'll think of these faces--of Margay, and Ashley, and Julie--when you get into your car and put your cell phone in the glove compartment.

Comments

[Velovolpe]

It is my opinion that tougher driver's standards and harsher penalties for both distracted and impaired driving are required. I am 55 years old, and I can't remember the last time I was required to take anything more than a vision test to renew my license. Everyone else takes the risk that I am still competent to perform the task (I am). When will driving become a PRIVILEGE again? American freedom is not defined as the right to drive a motorized vehicle, though it is appearent that it is often confused for it. It is time for this country to put away it's foolish infatuation with "car culture", and realize that we will all be much better off using mass transit and bicycles a lot more, and autos only as a last resort.

[10com]

This is an overwhelming way of getting attention for distracted driving. In the UK last year on the theme a video-campaign was released that went viral. We hope this campaign will have the same effects.

One technical point - is it possible that US .gov websites stop using digital data collecting & trafficking third-parties like Google Inc. to spread messages ? Develop independent .gov platforms to share video's and other personal data. Give posters normal rights to keep control over their (sensitive) data. Even the TypePad, Facebook, Twitter and other buttons collect digital data from visitors via apps.

10com | a fresh independent European initiative to raise awareness on digital data trafficking and digital data ownership monopolization. Striving for a framework of effective measures and rulings to equip the world and its civilians for the Age of Digital.

[CarolR]

Considering everything that is going on, not just texting while driving, but also using texting and video/photo phones to bully others, I do not know why laws have not been passed to ban cell phones that perform more than just phone calls to anyone under 18 years of age. Frankly I would like to see more things pushed to the age of 21: driving, drinking, smoking. At 18, even though legally an adult, too many children are still vulnerable to peer pressure, or even just the euphoria or becoming an adult. They are not thinking straight and need those extra few years to really become an adult.

[Carol Mizell]

Driving is risky enough without adding to the task with any type of distracting element. Public education is our best means of getting a handle on this. Severe punishment for wrong doing when you know better, always got my attention as a chld. Match the punishment to the action.

[Bonnie J. Templeton]

I teach Driver Education at Culpeper County High School. If you have a printed copy DVD of the recent faces of distraction or any other resources that we can use in our classroom. Please send to;

Bonnie J. Templeton
13085 Alum Springs Rd.
Culpeper, Virginia 22701

[www.google.com/accounts/o8/id?id=AItOawnHqd3ygN4gS60b1NKrC6wIlyMDUiVjX50]

I heard the audio from one of the videos via a satelite radio provram I listen to. And I question wether it is better to ban cell phone use, or put seatbelts on busses? I lost my mom a few years ago due to lack of seat belt use. She was a passanger.
Not all cell phone use is bad. My phone doubles as a gps unit. If that is taken away from me then I am forced to use hand written notes for directions to the places I pick up and deliver at. I am a truck driver. Would you rather have me glance at a phone/gps on the dash, or take my eyes off the road as I search my directions, look for street signs or look at a map as I steer 80,000 pounds down the road.
Just some food for thought.

[Jennifer Lindsay]

Most everyone appreciates the technological advances we have today; the ability to easily connect with friends and family instantly through cell phones or texting. However there is a time a place for everything. As we have all experienced, there are hundreds of bad drivers on the road at any given time, even without distractions. They can make for a frustrating and oftentimes scary experience when on the road, and if you've ever been in the car with someone who was texting or dialing a phone or even changing a song on their ipod- it can be terrifying. I cannot even count the number of times I've been in cars with people who have shifted out of their lane because they were distracted. It isn't just their life they are endagering, and their behavior is selfish. To see that a 19 year old who killed a woman because of "inattentive driving" and walk away with only a $174 fine does not send the message that we are serious about stopping these unnecessary deaths and accidents. Everyone thinks they have mastered texting without looking, or that they are only looking away for a second, but in reality that's all it takes. People who use their cell phones as a GPS are still taking their eyes off the road long enough to read and process directions. In an extreme case, I've even seen a man reading the newspaper while driving one morning. Yes, long drives are nicely accompanied by conversation- but in an age of bluetooth and cars with bluetooth capabilities, why is it not mandated in all states that people must use hands free devices? Yes, it is an increased cost to drivers and can be an inconvenience for people who dont like the technology, but what is that small sacrafice compared to the lives of others? No one thinks its going to happen to them, but it does and the statistics show that.

[Sharon Bowler]

My conservative friends tell me that you are trying to pass some sort of law that would put a device in cars that would disable all cell phones in cars.

I can only find these stories on FOX and other conservative sources that are quoting FOX. I won't believe it until I see it from a reliable source.
Please let me know.
Thanks,
Sharon Bowler
sharon.bowler@gmail.com

[Tricia Cato]

I think it should be a requirement for all driving courses to show the faces of distraction or a similiar video to make young drivers aware of the dangers of ALL distracted driving, I especially think texting and driving is a serious issue, not addressed by the legal system. While it is illegal for newly licensed drivers to text/talk on cell phones, I don't see that it is enforced. My 16 year old daughter lost her life because she took her eyes off the road for a brief second to text. With phones that do so many things, I think this issue is just going to grow worse.

[chad]

I think you are an idiot and should stay out of my vehicle, Big Brother.

[pss]

Please consider that there is a way to disable the use of cell phones while in motion that is:

1. less expensive

2. does not expose the occupants of a vehicle to yet more electronic radiation

3. is less subject to tampering or evasion

4. is a minor extension of current technical capabilities.

Here is how to do it:

Cell phones are able to carry out conversations because of the cell handoff technology. This is the differentiation between cell phones and previous generation radio-telephones.

The handoff between cell phone towers is controlled by software in the cell phone repeaters owned by the carriers.

If the cell tower handoff feature is disabled by the cell operator, a cell phone session will die as soon as it leaves the range of the current cell phone tower.

That discourages the use of cell phones while in motion.

The above is the first hint.

Now, to fully address the matter of any use of the cell phone while in motion would simply require that a cell phone carrier use technology that is already in place. The technology is the location detection ability of the cell phone towers put into place for such purposes as assisted gps and e-911. If the location of an object, the cell phone is tracked over time, it is trivial to determine speed. If it is mandated that the cell tower will not communicate with a device while in motion, then the cell phone cannot possibly be used while driving.

Note that it is quite possible for the controlling software to give effect to a rule where a speed threshold is specified. For example, it is possible to mandate that it is permissible to use a cell phone while at or below pedestrian speed. In that way, people walking down the street can still use a cell phone, but if they get into a car and pull away, then the cell phone will cut the connection.

The technology just described exists today as a standard component of the cell phone system. Or, it is a small enhancement to the existing components.

As such, it does not require changes to millions of vehicles, or the delay inherent in waiting for attrition to take older vehicles off the road which have not been fitted with the ability to control cell phone use.

In short, implementing the system at the carrier end would be cheaper, faster, and more effective than approaching it from the user end.

Please pardon the fact that it was posted here instead of being addressed as an email submission. I hope you find it useful. Should you wish to make contact, please use the email address found after following the link to the named web site.

http://edgedirector.com

[anonymous coward]

That's all well and good, but fining people for distracted driving has been proven to be ineffective, and the proposed car-based cell phone jammer is one of the worst ideas I've ever heard.

IF the FCC allows such a near-sighted policy to actually be implemented, good luck making a cell phone call in any metropolitan area. Cell phones will be useless with all the jamming signals that are leaking from nearby cars.

Also such devices will most certainly be circumvented. Just like most in-dash DVD players that are supposed to stop playing when a car is in motion, but can easily be tricked into thinking the car isn't moving.

Silly lawmakers. When are you going to learn you can't legislate human behavior?

[Quixote]

I've been wondering for *years* why cellphone interference isn't just standard in all moving cars.

You can identify the doofuses (doofi?) on their phones weaving all over the freeway, even before you get close enough to see them yakking to themselves and waving their hands.

Don't weaken, Mr. LaHood! Push this ban through!

[JonW]

Here's an idea, whether it's original or not: I've made an increasing number of sarcastic comments while driving, upon observing the erratic and drunken-like driving of others, to wit "Leave me alone, I'm on the phone!" When I have passengers, they typically laugh, albeit somewhat morbidly (usually only those that aren't guilty of the same stupidity, with the others remaining mum). I've even openly expressed the idea of making a bumper sticker to express this stupidity to commuters behind me and passersby as a sort of 'Valley-girl' type excuse in the event I am observed driving silly for say spilling my coffee, because God knows that I don't even like using the phone when it is sitting static on my desk, end table, countertop, etc., much less while I am hurling over 2 tons of steel at +30 mph attempting to nearly miss others who presume to hold dear the sanctity of human life - theirs and others! I learned many years ago riding a motorcycle to be hypervigilant in order to try to 'notice' aberrant driving behavior as it could be the one that ignorantly kills me while driving a 'scooter' w/o seatbelts, airbags, safety glass windscreen, or a cocoon of protective metal surrounding me. Although I no longer ride 2-wheelers, those instincts still serve me well in identifying most of the Doofus' to avoid.

I'm a 52 y/o midwest dad disgusted w/dodging cellular drunks.

Still Trying To 'Drive To Arrive Alive!'

[Joshua Clarke]

California law requires that a hands free unit (Bluetooth headset, etc.) be used if one uses a cell phone while driving. This law is blatantly ignored by both drivers and law enforcement. I can't tell you how many times I have nearly been hit by someone using a cell phone without the hands free unit or while texting. Obviously, something has to be done. I'm not sure, however, that disabling phones in vehicles is the answer because this means that passengers could not use their phones, and, phones could not be used in an emergency. Perhaps we should begin by enforcing existing laws with mandatory and severe penalties (loss of driving privilege) for violations. For sure, cell phone use by minor drivers should be unlawful, as should use of cell phones by commercial drivers, delivery trucks, and other large vehicles. And then every once and awhile I think we would be better off without cell phones, period. . . like when I'm sitting near some loudmouth on a cell phone in a restaurant or on a train.