It was on a grey December afternoon on the icy country roads where junior Dalton Bryant watched his life flash before his eyes. The car driving in front of him suddenly slammed on its brakes causing Bryant to face the cold reality of distracted driving.
“I was driving home from school the day we got out for Christmas break,” Bryant said, “I admit I was actually distracted but not by my phone or anything.”
In Washtenaw Country, there have been 701 reported cases involving distracted driving during the period of 2008-2010 according to michigantrafficcrashfacts.org. The death rate of teens in car crashes has increased 7.6 percent since 2009, and the number of those injured has decreased 0.6 percent. The total reported crashes decreased 3.1 percent.
Bryant ended up being OK and suffered no injuries, but the front of his 1997 Toyota 4 Runner was entirely smashed and he had to pay a $100 ticket.
“In the end, there was no way we could fix it, so we ended up selling the scrap metal,” Bryant said.
Bryant said he hopes more people will put down their phones and pay attention to the road so they don’t have to go through the same thing he did.
“Getting in that crash was the scariest moment of my life,” he said, “I don’t want to see someone else getting hurt. It’s awful”
