Texting while driving is incredibly dangerous. Statistics show that 3,328 people were killed and 421,000 people were injured in 2012 in collisions involving distracted drivers. Texting takes five seconds on average, which if you are driving at 55 mph is tantamount to travelling the length of a football field while wearing a blindfold. From One Second to the Next shows the human costs of those five seconds.
Losing Everything in Five Seconds
Director Werner Herzog explains to NPR why he chose to portray the emotional scars in From One Second to the Next rather than the horrific scenes that generally follow a fatal accident:
“What I wanted to do was show the interior side of the catastrophes. . . the kind of
deep wounds that are in those who were victims of accidents and also in
those who were the perpetrators. Their life has changed and they are
suffering forever.”
Often the perpetrator is a good person who made a poor decision that has ruined the victims’ lives – and his own as well.
One man who killed three people in an automobile accident while
texting “I love you” to his wife describes his anguished disbelief, “I’m just a guy, you know,That
can’t be real.” Another texter who killed
two men in an car crash said that “Knowing every day that you killed two
people is one of the hardest things that you can live with.”
And then there are the stories of once vibrant people whose
health was stolen by texting drivers. Like the young boy who was destined to
become a great football player can no longer walk or breathe without the help of a machine. Or the intelligent, athletic woman who must now rely upon her family for everything after sustaining catastrophic
injuries when a texting driver ran into her as she walked her dog.
Demand Ban on Texting While Driving from Our Texas Legislatures and Governor
Several cities in Texas restrict texting and cell phone use while driving. However, Texas does not have a statewide ban. Texas Governor Rick Perry vetoed an anti-texting bill
that was passed four years ago. Last session, Rep. Tom Craddick
reintroduced the texting ban bill, which cleared the House, but was not
considered for Committee vote in the Senate. Rep. Craddick has announced that he plans to introduce the texting ban law again in 2015.
Support
this important legislation and demand that Governor Greg Abbott sign the bill into law.
And watch From One Second to the Next. You’ll never text while driving again.