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Students learn dangers of texting and driving
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Published: October 24, 2009
KANNAPOLIS - A car going 55 mph travels 88 feet per second, according to North Carolina State Trooper Brent Daniels.
Now, imagine the time it takes a teen to text a friend while trying to maneuver a car through traffic.
Students at Mount Pleasant and Northwest Cabarrus high schools participated in the North Carolina Highway Patrol's "Don't Text and Drive" program to learn the dangers associated with distracted driving.
The Highway Patrol says the leading cause of death in teens is texting and driving.
This new program hopes to educate students on the dangers of texting.
The troopers created a road course with traffic cones and each student drove between the obstacles, first without texting, and then again while a friend send text messages.
The student must read the text and answer it while driving the course. The course is narrow with a stop sign, and sharp deliberate turns.
Several teens struggled to not smash the cones, but giggled as they did. The exercise seems fun to the students at first, but the Troopers hope what the teens take away is more serious.
"I do, sometimes text and drive," Northwest Cabarrus senior Ritchie Lane said. "My mom doesn't want me to text, but I can talk on the phone. I put it on speakerphone. I doubt a lane would be this small for me to drive, but it still taught me text and driving isn't a good thing."
Lane also finds there are other distractions, and admits to driving fast.
Another student, Jordon Tyson also a senior, commented on speeding.
"My three cousins died in 2008; they were 18 and would have graduated last year," Tyson said. "They were speeding. I do think about that when I'm driving, but it doesn't keep me from speeding. It should, but it doesn't. It just doesn't phase me."
The 17-year-old also admits to text and driving.
"I feel like I control it," Tyson said. "I did pretty good on the course. I've got it down."
Tyson said his mom is concerned with his safety while driving, and has talked to him about speeding and texting.
The course shows students the importance of paying attention to the road when driving. But to add to that message, troopers also show a public service announcement, created in Wales, that presents the reality of what can happen when your attention drifts, even for a moment, when driving a car.
As students watched the video the smiles and giggles faded, and the seriousness of the subject set in.
A reenactment shows a car of girls laughing and having fun driving down a highway. They are texting, and the driver's attention is taken from the road, as she texts her friends.
The car drifts across the centerline and hits the oncoming car. While the cars and passengers sit stunned, another car is unable to avoid the mess in the road, and smashes with full force into the passenger side of the girls' car.
The video has impact and the students quickly see the reality of driving while distracted.
"A car alone has never killed anyone," Daniels said.
Almost all the students admitted to texting and driving from time to time. Some even said their parents will text them while they are driving. Most of the kids said their parents don't have any rules about texting.
"You don't really pay attention, and you get distracted," Sarah Ritchie, a 17-year-old senior at Mount Pleasant, said. "I go to the right, because I text right handed, and drive left handed. I try not to text while I drive. My mom has a rule to try to limit when I read them, only at stop signs and red lights, so that helps a bit. She should probably change that though."
Ritchie saw the movie in the library before she drove the course.
"The movie they showed us kinda scared me, so I'll probably stop," Ritchie said.
Her best friend, senior Taylor Miller, thought the course was hard.
"I couldn't even get the text off before I crashed, because it was so hard," Miller said. "I have my sister read or text for me when I drive. If I'm by myself I'll do it at a red light. I'm not supposed to text."
At Northwest Cabarrus, Jordon Tyson seemed to finally get the message.
During the video Tyson looked concerned.
"It was tragic. I'm not going to do it anymore. I'm not sure if I can stick to it, but I'm going to try," Tyson said.
For more information on the "Don't Text and Drive" program, visit www.donttextanddrive.blogspot.com
• Contact reporter Robin L. Gardner: 704-789-9140
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