Reasons why you should take the pledge
Jacy’s Story
We met the day in August 2004 that we both moved into a dorm as freshman at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, PA. A short three weeks later we shared our first kiss and the rest is, as they say, history.
After 3½ fantastic years together we approached our May 2008 graduation day ready for “real life” to begin. Steve was set to enter the banking world while Jacy had landed a dream job through AmeriCorps to be a team leader for Habitat For Humanity. We had plans for our careers as well as our lives together, but just hours after receiving our diplomas we were thrust into a world of terror, uncertainty, and overwhelming sadness.
About halfway back to her childhood home in Lancaster, PA the car carrying Jacy and her parents was struck head-on by a tractor trailer as both entered an intersection with green lights. The truck had swerved to try to avoid a man coming from the intersecting road who attempted to turn left through a red light. That man was talking on his phone at the time.
Jacy’s parents never left the scene but an astounding series of fortunate events and unequalled medical care kept Jacy alive in the crumpled car, the ambulance ride, and through 8 ½ hours of surgery. She was given just a 10% chance of survival as she lay comatose and nearly unrecognizable in intensive care that first night. Steve spent 12 hours a day by her side through four months of hospitalization. Jacy’s laundry list of injuries have managed to heal through time (and a healthy dose of titanium rods, plates, and screws) but due to a traumatic brain injury she is unable to use her left arm or lower leg and has minor lingering cognitive issues.
Less than a year after that life-altering tragedy Jacy began to campaign for a cell phone ban in her native Pennsylvania. This unexpectedly triggered an avalanche of interview requests and public appearances and since April 2010 Jacy has been on The Oprah Winfrey Show, a guest of Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations, a “Hero Among Us” in People Magazine, a speaker at Maria Shriver’s Women’s Conference, on NPR’s Car Talk, and been featured in dozens of articles, television news pieces, and press conferences nationwide. You may also have seen her on TLC’s Say Yes To The Dress and in January 2015 Jacy was profiled on CNN’s The Human Factor. A PSA through AT&T’s ‘It Can Wait’ campaign went viral, with over 300 million views across social media.
It was early in this amazing journey that we realized our story could impact and potentially save lives and since 2011 we have spoken at over 1,000 events across the world to well over 300,000 people, encouraging the public to make safer choices, companies to develop and enforce cell phone policies, and legislators to put in place the necessary laws to protect the public.
Learn more about Jacy Good’s story here.
Distracted Driving Statistics
*The Most Startling Distracted Driving Statistics for 2020* ~ According to https://carsurance.net/blog/distracted-driving-statistics/
– In the United States, about 9 people are killed every day due to car crashes involving a distracted driver.
– 21% of teen drivers involved in a car accident were distracted by cell phones.
*What percentage of accidents are caused by distracted drivers?*
Current distracted driving statistics show that 80% of all car accidents are caused by the driver being distracted in some way. This includes fatal accidents as well. Further research signifies that 58% of crashes involving teen drivers are a result of distracted driving.
Source: TeenSafe
*Is texting and driving more dangerous than drinking and driving?*
According to the top statistics, reports show that texting and driving are six times more likely to lead to a car crash than drinking and driving. However, both are extremely dangerous. Drinking and driving causes many fatalities, while texting and driving leads to a greater number of accidents.
Source: Smith System
*How many injuries are there a year from texting and driving?*
Texting and driving is not just a crime, it’s a very dangerous act. According to case studies, texting and driving makes up almost 1.6 million car crashes every year. Of those, nearly 390,000 injuries are recorded.
Source: Edgar Snyder
*Every year, distracted drivers are responsible for about 2.5 million car crashes.*
Almost every day, people hear about these crashes all over the world. This is regarded as a major problem in society, and for this reason, the public has access to many relevant enlightenment programs and educational services on distracted driving.
Source: Smith System
*On a typical day, more than 700 people are injured in distracted driving crashes.*
Talking on a cell phone – even hands-free – or texting or programming an in-vehicle infotainment system diverts your attention away from driving. Keep yourself and others around you safe and #justdrive.
Source: National Safety Council
*Texting and driving causes 1 out of 4 car crashes.*
Today’s cell phone distraction statistics show just how important it is for drivers to keep their cell phones out of reach.
Source: Edgar Snyder
*Texting and driving is 6 times more likely to lead to a car accident than driving drunk.*
Cell phones are fast becoming an integral part of our everyday lives. This also applies to drivers. However, cell phone driving statistics have shown that drivers who text and drive are six times more likely to crash than drivers who drive drunk. This goes a long way toward showing how much harm the presence of cell phones can bring to drivers.
Source: Smith System
*Driving distracted was responsible for 8.5% of the fatal motor vehicle crashes in 2018.*
Reports are still being gathered concerning 2019. Hopefully the high number of fatalities due to distracted driving will incentivize people into educating themselves about its dangers.
Source: The Zebra
*71% of large truck/car crash fatalities happened as a result of being distracted.*
Large truck accidents occur just as often as any other type of car accident. And their drivers are clearly no exception to the statistics on distracted driving.
Source: Smith System
~https://www.nhtsa.gov/risky-driving/distracted-driving
Distracted driving is dangerous, claiming 2,841 lives in 2018 alone. Among those killed: 1,730 drivers, 605 passengers, 400 pedestrians and 77 bicyclists. NHTSA leads the national effort to save lives by preventing this dangerous behavior. Get the facts, get involved, and help us keep America’s roads safe.
~https://nationaltoday.com/distracted-driving-awareness-month/
– Text messaging increases the risk of crash or near-crash by 23 times.
– Over 80% of drivers admit to blatantly hazardous behavior while driving, such as changing clothes, steering with a foot, painting nails, or even shaving.