This Video Proves Phones and Driving Should Not Mix. Period.

It’s heartbreaking. You can see the other car coming before the teenager can. You can’t warn them. You can’t save them. And neither could the researchers who had to watch these troublesome last seconds before impact.

Watch this video. Share it with your kids. And your friends. Don’t forget to tell yourself that you need to learn this lesson, too. Over and over. For every year of safe driving, we tell ourselves that we don’t need to be so vigilant any more. We’re a pro. We can take some leeway. So we look down at our phones. We answer a text. We pick up a call. And we too are oblivious in those final seconds. Before impact.

The study looked at 1,700 crashes. The data came from dashboard cameras that teenagers voluntarily agreed to put in their cars. For the first few days they probably drove safer. They sat up straighter. They checked their blind spots. And they stopped using their phones while driving.

Then they got used to the cameras. They forgot why they were there. They slipped back into their normal selves. They slouched more. Drove drowsy more. Checked their phones more. Let their minds wander more. And it happened.

The study was conducted by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. The sad thing is how oblivious most drivers were before impact. How blissful. How calm. They were safe drivers up to that point. Many had probably never been in a collision before. Their driving record was spotless. Points on their license were zero. They were “good drivers.”

Seeing their eyes go suddenly wide is arresting. They snap to full attention. Hands plead frantically with the wheel. But it’s too late. The car is now hostile. It rotates heedlessly across lanes. It’s apparent that the driver has completely lost all control. They are now captive. Chained to the potentially lethal fate that awaits.

A few seconds ago, they would have been fine. A few seconds is all a crash needs to weasel its way between you and the wheel. A few seconds are fraught with lethality. A few seconds.

Share this video. Remind yourselves to stay safe.