Acclaimed Director Werner Herzog Releases Powerful Documentary about Distracted Driving
It is a sobering and disturbing fact that, at any specific time in the United States, almost 3/4 of a million people are sending and receiving text messages as they drive.
In fact, more than 3,000 people died on the nation’s roads in 2011 as a direct result of texting while driving.
Why Do People Do it?
In today’s hectic world, people are almost constantly on the go. They are doing more and taking more time to do it than they ever have before. Culturally, there has also been a shift towards a “me first” attitude in pop culture that involves instant gratification.
People just “have to know” what’s coming next without any patience whatsoever. People, especially young people, also have an inflated sense of not only their skill as a driver but also of their immortality. After all, “it’ll just take a second.”
Werner Herzog’s Take
The famed, 70-year-old German director has put together a 35-minute film called “From One Second to the Next” that presents an uncompromising look at what a regional director of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recently called an epidemic. In it, he interviews both drivers and victims and pulls no punches. Herzog presents an interesting view on the whole discussion because he does not use text messaging himself.
One of the driver’s interviewed in the film said that he felt responsible every day for a fatal accident he had caused while texting behind the wheel. The driver swerved into another car and forced it into the oncoming lane, and the people were killed in the resulting head-on collision. Herzog was deeply moved by the possible instant annihilation of entire families that could ensue from the pure, selfish impatience of texting while driving.
National Campaign Against Texting While Driving
AT&T had already worked with Herzog on its “It Can Wait” campaign and other companies have joined the fight by promoting the Safe Texting application that locks the phone whenever someone is driving. With the app installed, even self-styled “texting addicts” can put down the phone and, within a week, not even notice that they are no longer receiving calls and texts.
If you or someone you know has been injured or killed by a texting driver, a lawyer might be able to help.
Call Abrahamson & Uiterwyk today for a free consultation. The number is 800-538-4878.