Faces of Distracted Driving: Joe Teater, 12 "Why aren't people screaming from the rooftops that this is dangerous?"

It never gets easier for Judy Teater--even after almost seven years.

“Our lives will never be the same since losing Joe,” she says.  “We loved him so much, and we still miss him every day."

I first met Judy at the 2009 Distracted Driving Summit.  And the story she shared--about the son she adored and the crash that took his life--has stuck with me ever since.  Now, I'd like to share it with you in the latest video from our "Faces of Distracted Driving" series.

The youngest of three boys, 12-year-old Joe Teater was a busy young man.  During the winter of 2004, he was a 7th grader at Forest Hills Northern Middle School near Spring Lake, Michigan.  And in his free time, he was an athlete, a video game enthusiast, an actor, and a leader in his youth group.  

Judy and Joe were on their way to one of his after school activities on the day of the crash.  They were just a mile from their home when a young woman driving a Hummer and talking on her cell phone ran a red light and slammed into their vehicle.  

Judy was fortunate to escape with only minor injuries.  But Joe wasn't as lucky.  His side of the car took the brunt of the impact, and he died the next day at the hospital.

The loss stunned the Teater family--especially when they discovered that the driver who struck them was on the phone at the time of the crash.

"She passed six cars and a school bus that were stopped for the red light, and she did not see them," Judy said.  "She was talking and looking straight ahead and didn't see the cars passing in front of her."

Since the accident, Judy and her husband Dave have devoted themselves to ending distracted driving. Judy is a founding member of FocusDriven, while Dave works with the National Safety Council to reduce teen driving deaths.  And they have a straightforward message:

"Everybody on the road owes it to everybody else on the road not to be picking up their phone--not talking, not texting."  

"Every distracted driving incident could have been prevented."

If you have a distracted driving experience you'd like to share, post a video on YouTube and email a link to faces@distraction.gov.

Comments

[Michael E. Bailey]

One of the important goals for 2011 shoulgd be completing the process of every state passing legislation to end driving and talking on a cell phone and/or texting. Many states have passed the laws, the rest need to follow; and the laws passed must be enforced to the fullest. Best wishes, Michael E. Bailey.

[Kevin Harris]

Oh, I'm really sad reading story. So unfortunate for the innocent boy with the accident he got. Drunk, Texting and talking on your cellphone are the top causes of car accident that the government must prohibited seriously to avoid implicate other innocent people.

[J.T. Wright]

These are some very powerful and touching videos. They are great reminders to us all of the importance of driving without being distracted. It is so sad to see any human life taken early because of something that could have been avoided.

Most of us have driven at sometime or another while being distracted. Hopefully as we enter into a new year we will drive without these distractions and save more lives as a result. We applaud these videos and their message.

[Ellen Fensterer]

How horrible! I am a mother of two daughters. Since my oldest has started driving I warned her about texting and driving. I finally found a solution to help stop it! I found this product called, Text Zapper. It is so amazing. My daughter can not text or e-mail while driving. I purchased an app (for only $4.99 a month) for her phone and it senses motion. It blocks incoming and outgoing texts and e-mails. As a mom, it has really made me sure that my daughter is paying attention to the road. I was so afraid before. You can get the app. and more information at www.zapmytext.com

[Barbara S. Abrahamer]

If the USDOT is so concerned with distracted driving, how about taking an actual stand on Commercial Electronic Variable Message Signs (CEVMS)? The FHWA has left the states twisting in the wind trying to address this problem.

[Tiki]

First and foremost, someone has to take responsibility for this! Secondly we need a follow up of what they will do to prevent this from happening again. The responsible person has to go public and guarantee this, put his name on the line for this.

[ajlounyinjurylaw]

This is so sad and what's even more heartbreaking is that some people still don't understand the damage it causes to yourself and other families when they refuse to think that it could happen to them. It only takes a split second.

[injury lawyer]

We wish phones had a parental control tied to the GPS, so that if the phone is moving more than 3 MPH, the buttons are stopped from operation...

A true tragedy, as it was preventable. We see many more stories like this every month on our injury lawyer news blog...

[true protein]

Laws on texting while driving should apply to everyone not just teens. Everyone should practice safe driving habits.