The Text That Took a Life

 

We all know the feeling. The phone buzzes. A message lights up. You’re driving, but it’s just one quick glance. Just one reply. Just a few seconds.

But those seconds can be fatal.

Texting while driving isn’t a minor lapse—it’s a major risk. It’s not just about you. It’s about your passengers, the people in the other car, the cyclist in the bike lane, the pedestrian crossing the street. It’s about lives that can be shattered in the time it takes to say “on my way.”

Here’s what the numbers reveal:

• Distracted driving caused 3,275 deaths in 2023 in the U.S.
• 14% of all fatal crashes involve cellphone use
• Drivers who text are 23x more likely to be involved in a crash
• At any given moment, 660,000 drivers are using their phones while driving

And when a crash happens:

• Drivers are most likely to die if they’re texting at high speed
• Passengers, especially teens, face significant risk—often with no control over the situation
• Pedestrians and cyclists: 611 were killed in 2023 by distracted drivers

Who’s most at risk?

• Teens (15–20): Most likely to be involved in fatal texting-related crashes
• High school students: 39–42% admit to texting while driving
• Adults: 47% admitted to texting while driving in 2024—a 31% increase from 2021

And the physics are unforgiving:

• Looking away for 5 seconds at 55 mph = driving the length of a football field blind
• Phone use reduces attention by 37%
• Accident likelihood increases by 400% when eyes leave the road

These aren’t just numbers. They’re stories. They’re families. They’re futures lost to a moment of distraction.

So, let’s be clear: no text is worth a life. Not yours. Not anyone else’s.

Put the phone down. Let the message wait. Drive like every life depends on it—because it does.

post inspired by One Simple Text . . . (Shaw & Brown)

Book description:

It was every parent's worst nightmare. On a sun-drenched morning in April 2012, a Maryland state trooper knocked on Betty Shaw's front door and delivered the grim news that her 17-year-old daughter, Liz, had been involved in a horrible car accident and was clinging to life.

Liz recovered from her life-threatening injuries but suffered severe and permanent effects from the accident. Texting while driving caused Liz's crash, and she and her mother went on a mission to educate people about the perils of distracted driving. The pair began to speak before various groups, and as their popularity grew, they launched a video about Liz's story which went viral, spawning magazine and online articles, as well as several TV appearances, including one on Oprah Winfrey's Where Are They Now? show.

In One Simple Text, Betty Shaw recounts her daughter's frightening and arduous but ultimately uplifting and inspirational journey. Betty chronicles Liz's ordeal from the day of the accident and provides a glimpse of their life on the speaking and television circuit. This is a poignant memoir about a young woman who triumphed over tragedy; a mother and daughter's love; and the indomitable power of the human spirit.

Awards
Hollywood Book Festival Honorable Mention
Kops-Fetherling International Book Awards: Legacy Award for
Inspiration/Motivation
story told on the Oprah Winfrey Show

 For more posts about Betty and Dave and their book, click HERE.

Click for more stories about going from tragedy to triumph and overcoming the odds.

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