Caroline Claffey, Campus Carrier Deputy News Editor
Freshman Alex Sorohan encouraged her peers to drive safely in a presentation Monday night called “Don’t Text, Just Drive.”
Abut 60 attendees gathered to hear her speak about how her own life has been affected by driving while distracted, specifically by texting while driving.
Sorohan began her presentation by asking attendees to take out their cell phones and read the last text message they received. Some volunteers read theirs out loud, and Sorohan asked the audience if that text message was worth their life. She then showed short, humorous clips of people falling down or knocking into things because they were distracted while texting.
Sorohan told the audience that while these videos were amusing, they demonstrated to her how distracting texting really is.
“That’s what I think the reality behind these funny videos is,” Sorohan said. “If you’re in a car, it’s a different reality.”
Sorohan then told a story of Jonina Frische, a high school student whose mother had come from Germany with a work visa to work with horses and support Frische and her family. In 2009, Frische’s mother was injured in a car crash because the other driver was texting, crossed into her lane and hit her head on.
Sorohan said because of Frische’s mother’s injuries, this car crash changed her life.
“One second of another person’s decision took that livelihood away from her,” Sorohan said.
Sorohan went on to share statistics: close to 4,000 people die each year because of texting and driving, which boils down to 333 people each month or 11 people every day.
In addition, Sorohan discussed a Car and Driver study from 2009, which compared the effects of texting and driving to the effects of driving while drunk. A red light was mounted on the dashboard of the car, and when the light lit up, the driver was to hit the brakes. At 35 miles per hour, the study showed that the drivers’ reaction times were impeded by up to 7 feet while driving drunk, 41 feet while driving and typing a text and 45 feet while driving and reading a text. At 70 miles per hour, their reaction times were impeded by up to 11 feet while driving drunk, 70 feet while driving and typing a text and 36 feet while driving and reading a text.
Sorohan said the fact that reaction times of drunk drivers were better than those of sober drivers who were texting said a lot to her.
“This really put into perspective for me how bad texting while driving is,” Sorohan said.
Sorohan told the audience that there are three types of distracted driving. Cognitive distraction is taking your mind off driving, visual distraction is taking your eyes off the road and manual distraction is taking your hands off the wheel.
Sorohan said all three of these distractions are dangerous, but texting while driving is the most dangerous of all.
“Texting while driving is an activity that encases all three of these,” Sorohan said. “One thing that strikes me is thinking, ‘How could you be so good at driving that you don’t need to see?’”
Sorohan then showed the audience a picture of her older brother, Caleb Daniel Sorohan.
She said she and her brother were very close.
“My parents always told me, ‘Your siblings are the only people you’ll always have,’” Sorohan said. “Caleb was always smiling—not because he always had something to smile about, but because he wanted other people to have something to smile about.”
When Caleb was 18, he was on Christmas break and in Athens to do some Christmas shopping with a friend, Sorohan said.
“One second he looked down at his phone, swerved into the other lane, hit another car head on and the crash killed him instantly,” Sorohan said.
Sorohan showed the audience a picture of her brother’s totaled car and said that her first semester at Berry was hard without him.
“All I could think about was that my brother couldn’t give me advice, because he thought it was more important to look at his phone in that second,” Sorohan said.
She then revealed that the driver who had hit Frische’s mother was Caleb.
Sorohan said Caleb’s choice had affected not only his and his family’s lives, but Frische’s as well.
“My brother’s choice took his life away, but it also changed Jonina’s life,” Sorohan said.
After Caleb’s crash, Sorohan and her family campaigned for a bill that would make texting while driving illegal, and in June of 2010, Caleb’s Law was passed. Caleb’s Law makes it illegal for anyone with a Class C license to text while driving. According to a Senate Press Release from June 4, 2010, “a conviction will result in a fine of up to $150…and a teenager charged twice with texting while driving will be restricted to driving on a Class D license for a period of one year.” Drivers under the age of 18 are not permitted to use phones at all while driving.
Sorohan ended her presentation by showing another picture of Caleb, telling the audience to replace his face with one of someone they care about and asking them if they would endanger that person’s life.
“I’ll never see him [Caleb] again. This is the person who’s gone forever,” Sorohan said. “If you’re putting their life on the line, would you ever risk their life or yours by texting and driving?”
Major Jonathan Bagget, assistant director of Campus Safety, said Sorohan’s presentation was part of a larger campus effort to educate students about the dangers of driving while distracted.
“We received a grant from the Governor’s Office of Highway Safety to do a program funding education stuff…to make people aware of the dangers of driving while distracted—either texting or talking on the phone, drinking and driving, that kind of thing.”
Efforts on campus have included Sorohan’s presentation, last week’s distracted driving simulator and a table in Krannert with information about distracted driving.
Office manager for Campus Safety Amanda Cromer said other efforts are planned, including surveys to see how people are distracted while driving on campus.
“We are trying to get people more aware,” Cromer said. “We are trying to just make people safer.”
Cromer said a major factor in the recent events about distracted driving is Spring Break.
“A big focus right now and a big reason we are doing it all this week is that Spring Break is next week,” Cromer said. “We want to make sure that people stay safe for Spring Break. This is a big time for people to travel other places, but we want to be sure that they remember to stay safe.”
Sorohan urged audience members to tell at least three other people not to text and drive in order to spread awareness.
“‘It won’t happen to me’ is never an excuse,” said Sorohan. “It’s important that everyone knows, because as long as anyone texts and drives, everyone you love is in danger. You could save someone’s life, or even your own.”
Sorohan encouraged audience members to take the pledge not to text and drive and said there would be a table in Krannert from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. throughout the week where students could take the pledge.
“I hope this presentation has changed your mind about texting while driving, but I also hope it encourages you to spread the message,” Sorohan said. “I can’t do it alone; I need your help.”
Cromer said as of Wednesday, 50 people had signed the pledge.