If distracted drivers could see the pain they cause before they cause it, instances of distracted driving would decrease dramatically.
That is what research and an ongoing program in Louisiana have shown.
The Acadia Parish Sherriff’s Office created Choices, a program showing that with every choice — including the choice to drive distractedly — there is a price to pay.
The Choices program involves local law enforcement and about 200 students who act out a mock crash and the consequences, including going to the morgue to identify a distracted driving victim and attending the funeral.
The entire process is videoed and shown at high schools, and organizers say the program has had an immense and positive impact on students.
The founder of StopDistractions.org, an advocacy group, had this to say about the kids’ reactions: “It’s an amazing experience, and you leave there with these youth genuinely saying they want to change and they want to do better and they’re going to stop their parents.”
So what does change look like?
When it comes to stopping distracted driving, change means not answering the phone, not texting or watching videos, not using Facebook or Instagram while behind the wheel The reality is that each year distracted driving takes more than 3,100 lives and results in more than 430,000 injuries. Change means reducing those numbers dramatically.
Young people are disproportionately involved in distracted driving wrecks, but the truth is that people of all ages drive distractedly. If you or someone you love has been injured in a distracted driving accident in Belle Chasse or anywhere in the Greater New Orleans are, speak with a local attorney about your options for full and fair compensation.
