We all know that we shouldn’t text and drive, but yet even I feel sometimes compelled to glance at my phone. I don’t respond to texts unless I’m fully stopped, but even that is against the law in many places. That second that you remove your eyes from the road, you become distracted, and the vehicle you are driving is transformed into a deadly weapon. Often, however, people think and believe “oh this can’t happen to me” and choose to continue to drive and text. If you are still of that mentality, please take 30 minutes to watch this documentary “From One Second to the Next” by Werner Herzog. And share it with others. These are real stories from the heartland of the U.S. They can happen anywhere though.
With over 2 million views, this 30 minute documentary is powerful and compelling. We have all probably seen similar ones that focus on drinking and driving, an equally dangerous and deadly activity, but texting and driving happens all of the time by all different types of people. This documentary walks you through 4 heartbreaking stories where a single distracting text ended or changed the lives of many. The full video is below (also available on YouTube directly):
[youtube http://youtu.be/_BqFkRwdFZ0]
Below are the stories, each one equally as heartbreaking as the other.
The X-Man
This is a story about the X-man (Xzavier) who, while walking with his sister, was struck by a driver who ran a 4-way stop sign in a school zone. The driver was texting.
There were no brake marks. The text that was sent right when Xzavier was knocked from his sister’s hand was just “On my way”…
Xzavier is now paralyzed from the diaphragm down and requires a ventilator to breath.
A Letter from Martin
“Did I dream the accident” thinks Chandler who fatally struck and killed 3 members of an Amish family. This irony of this story is simply amazing.
Chandler was texting back and forth with his wife…the last message that was sent was “I love you.”
This story has an interesting twist at the end, that refers to the title. Be sure to watch it.
Our Sister Debbie
Debbie can’t remember the accident. She used to be a world traveler and now her balance is off, has double vision and cannot leave her yard.
The teenage girl who struck her and killed her dog only received 30 days in jail, 5 months of house arrest and 500 hours of community service.
Debbie’s hospital bills were over 1 million dollars, the teenaged driver’s liability insurance only covered $50,000.
Reaching for the Stars
The picture above looks like any accident. 2 people were killed. One was a father, an astronomer. The texting driver, Reggie, doesn’t even remember what the text was. But it was enough to cause him to drift over the center dividing line and cause him to slightly sideswipe a car.
The car crossed the divider and was t-boned by a truck. The passenger and driver were killed.
Reggie says “texting and driving for me was more important than those 2 men were to their families.”
This story does have a bit of redemption at the end so be sure to watch it!
Take the Pledge!
There are hundreds if not thousands more stories like the ones in this #ItCanWait documentary. Unfortunately, I have a feeling that these numbers will continue to rise until we follow Reggie’s advice which he says at the end of the film – “It’s that simple – put the phone away.”
I encourage you to Take the #ItCanWait pledge of not texting and driving. Head over to www.ItCanWait.com and do it there! And once you do, stick to it!
Disclosure Text : I was paid/compensated by AT&T and/or its affiliates or PR/Marketing firms to write this article. All opinions within this article are my own and are not subject to the editorial review from any 3rd party. More information can be found in my About page as well as here.
HTD says: Please take the #ItCanWait pledge!
