Over the past few years, texting and driving has become an epidemic that has taken lives at an alarming rate. According to Health Research Funding, nine people are killed, on average, daily due to a distracted driver.
Although not all of these distracted drivers are engaging in texting, it is still an issue, especially at the teenage and young adult level. To provide prevention strategies and display the horrors that come with texting and driving, York Suburban’s Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), is sponsoring a campaign in effort to end the unnecessary fatalities.
The campaign launched on Thursday, Nov. 19. This campaign will feature posters hung around the school, a heart breaking video from a Spring Grove family who lost their daughter almost a year ago, and pledges. Additionally, they will be introducing an app to help with driving distractions.
“We all believe that we can handle it, that we will be careful, that we are only looking away from the road for one minute,” said SADD advisor Jolene Kingston. The reality is that many things can happen to a distracted driver in just one minute. Physical and mental impairments as well as death could be a terrible result of not paying attention to the road which is what SADD is trying to convey.
To limit these unfortunate effects, SADD has found an app that will assist with distracted driving. When the app is enabled while driving, any text messages received by the driver will be automatically replied to by the app saying that the driver will contact them when he/she has arrived at their destination.
“[The apps] help support our good decisions, but detterring temptation,” said Kingston.
By far one of the biggest obstacles SADD must overcome with this campaign is the support from students and adults. This issue is rising and will not stop unless action is taken.
“I hope that students and adults will take this seriously, and realize tht it could happen to them. We are hoping for 100% student and staff participation,” said Kingston.