HILLIARD, Ohio -- Everyone's heard texting or talking on your mobile while driving is dangerous. That doesn't stop some people, though.
But here's the reality.
According to the National Safety Council, 636,000 crashes are caused by cell phone use every year: 333,000 of those crashes cause injuries; 12,000 involve serious injuries; and 2,600 people lose their lives.
"Texting is not the true problem. It’s inattention," Hilliard Police Chief Doug Francis said.
Though the numbers are striking, it's the tragic stories of people whose lives have been forever altered by distracted driving that really hit home.
Andy Teater, the president of the Hilliard City School Board, has lost a loved one to distracted driving. His nephew, Joe, was in the car with his mother. The vehicle was crossing an intersection when a young woman in her early 20s allegedly ran the light and hit them broadside. She allegedly was talking on her cell phone and couldn’t see the red light. Teater’s nephew died in the crash.
"It was very obvious that it was that distraction that caused that accident because she was in the left-hand lane, and in the right-hand lane there were several cars and a school bus stopped at the light. She was so distracted that it did not even register, and she ran the red light," Teater said.
Crashes such as that one happen every day.
"Prior to this tragedy that happened to my family, I probably would’ve been one of those cynical or nonbelieving people that would continue using the cell phone or continue texting when I was driving. But once this happened, my older brother got very active and learned as much as he could about distracted driving and the dangers of it. The science and the statistics that are out there truly prove how dangerous it is," Teater said.
Teater’s brother, David, was named Senior Director, Transportation Strategic Initiatives for the National Safety Council.
According to a press release on its Web site, David will "lead the NSC’s advocacy initiatives to reduce deaths and injuries associated with teen driving and distracted driving."
"There are three different types of distractions when you drive. One is visual, which means you’re taking your eyes off the road. One is manual, which means you take your hands off the wheel, but more importantly is the cognitive distraction of your mind being somewhere else. Texting is the only distraction that takes all three of those," David said.
This story first was written for Hilliard Bradley’s The Reporter and shared with NBC 4 as part of a media collaboration between schools and the station.
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