Distracted driving awareness tour
Distracted driving accidents kill approximately 6,000 Americans every year.
And a national group is trying to prevent young people from ever getting into the habit of driving while distracted by phone calls or texts.
The Save A Life Tour stopped at Marquette Senior High School with a high-tech driving simulator.
Students got to see and feel what it’s like to drive while answering texts, and they saw how easily distractions lead to accidents.
Texting while driving has been illegal in michigan for three years now, and three weeks ago, handheld cell phones were banned for Michigan teens while behind the wheel.
Tour manager Cody Beerthuis says while he thinks people are beginning to get the message about how harmful talking and texting behind the wheel are, many young people will continue to do them anyway.
He wants to give young people a glimpse of what the effects might look like instead of just having them listen to or read the laws.
Distracted driving has personally affected Beerthuis.
When he was in high school, he himself was a passenger in a one-car distracted driving accident.
His best friend was driving, and another passenger in the vehicle — his best friend’s girlfriend — died.