Ask yourself how focused you are when you are driving. No. Really. Consider the answer to that question. Do you have both hands on the wheel? Are you keeping your eyes on the road? Where is your cell phone?
According to End DD, 10% of fatal crashes each year are usually because of a form of distracted driving. Specifically, cell phone use is considered the same level of distraction as if you were over the legal limit of alcohol.
Taking your eyes off the road for a split second can lead to a domino effect on your entire life. In an instant, your whole life can change. Just ask Joyce Osborne. She knows all too well.
Joyce is the mother of Thomas Anthony Klohn who was a devoted father and helpful friend. Joyce described him as,
“Thomas was always one to lend a hand to anyone in need.”
And on February 12, 2016, that is exactly what Thomas was doing. He was helping a friend move back home. Unfortunately, he was also texting as he made the hours-long journey. At 9 o’clock that evening, Joyce got a phone call a phone call no parent ever wants to receive. Once the police officer explained that Thomas has died as a result of a one-vehicle car crash Joyce felt a surge of intuition to ask a single question. She described it,
“Before the trooper could tell me the cause of the crash, I asked him if my son was texting while driving. His response was ‘Yes ma’am.”
Over the next few weeks, Joyce worked diligently to piece together what exactly happened to her son. What she discovered was painfully raw. She learned that her son was in the middle of texting when he exited the roadway going 75 MPH. From there, he hit a guardrail and skidded into a boulder before his truck became airborne. The vehicle then slid across the freeway and landed on the driver’s side before becoming totally engulfed in flames.
One of the most difficult things for Joyce to learn is that a witness attempted tirelessly to extinguish the flames as Thomas cried out for help. Unfortunately, the fire was too intense and was not able to be put out until about one hour later. According to the autopsy, Thomas died from blunt force trauma and thermal heating.
Joyce never explains what exactly the message was that Thomas was sending the night that he died. But she did say,
“I read, and re-read, and re-read the text he was in the middle of, anger overcame me. It was such a mundane text, and it could have waited.”
Since that moment, Joyce has dedicated her efforts to end distracted driving. According to KHou11, she teamed up with the Texas Department of Transportation on their “Talk, Text, Crash” campaign where she shared her personal tragedy with students. Joyce wants to improve legislation to include harsher penalties for texting and driving. She also wants kids to understand the impacts of these decisions well before they get behind the wheel of a car. She said,
“Before you get your driver’s license, go to a morgue or a funeral home and see what happens to those who text and drive.”
Stories like this are absolutely gut-wrenching, but more than that, they should be a wake-up call. Distracted driving is completely avoidable, and it’s up to us to make that conscious decision before we get behind the wheel of a car. Don’t text and drive. It can wait.
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