Crash Survivors Set to Use Experience to Educate Others
Both young survivors were involved in auto accidents stemming from distracted driving, which in the case of Shaw resulted in two fatalities.
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September 30, 2009
At the Distracted Driving Summit scheduled to be hosted by the Department of Transportation on October 1 in Washington, DC, Reggie Shaw, 22, and Nicole Meredith, 18, will talk to high school students around the nation about the dangers of texting while driving.
Both young survivors were involved in auto accidents stemming from distracted driving, which in the case of Shaw resulted in two fatalities. According to Nationwide.com, an insurance company, distracted driving is a factor in 25 percent of police-reported crashes.
Some 16,000 people die in passenger car crashes in the U.S. every year. However, simple safety tips can help lower that number, and they include avoiding the use of cell phones to talk or text, as this can reduce the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent, says Nationwide.com.
Refraining from driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is another way to reduce the number of deaths, as intoxication-related road accidents killed 11,773 people in 2008, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocacy organization that accepts donations.
There are also teens volunteering their time to educate people their age about the dangers of distracted driving. One of them is 17-year-old Natalie Hayford, who collaborates with the Anoka, Minnesota, chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions and will also attend the summit.
At the Distracted Driving Summit scheduled to be hosted by the Department of Transportation on October 1 in Washington, DC, Reggie Shaw, 22, and Nicole Meredith, 18, will talk to high school students around the nation about the dangers of texting while driving.
Both young survivors were involved in auto accidents stemming from distracted driving, which in the case of Shaw resulted in two fatalities. According to Nationwide.com, an insurance company, distracted driving is a factor in 25 percent of police-reported crashes.
Some 16,000 people die in passenger car crashes in the U.S. every year. However, simple safety tips can help lower that number, and they include avoiding the use of cell phones to talk or text, as this can reduce the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent, says Nationwide.com.
Refraining from driving while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is another way to reduce the number of deaths, as intoxication-related road accidents killed 11,773 people in 2008, according to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an advocacy organization that accepts donations.
There are also teens volunteering their time to educate people their age about the dangers of distracted driving. One of them is 17-year-old Natalie Hayford, who collaborates with the Anoka, Minnesota, chapter of Students Against Destructive Decisions and will also attend the summit.
