By Sarah Knepp, For The Miami Student
By the time many students get to Miami, they've likely had cell phones for several years and have been driving for a year or two. However, texting and driving still proves to be a problem among young people - and accidents happen.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), eight people are killed and over 1,000 are injured in car accidents every day because of a distracted driver. Drivers under the age of 20 are the most frequent victims of these types of crashes.
Last week, sophomore Chloe Reed was driving through the curvy roads of Cincinnati when a distracted driver hit her car.
"I came around the corner and this car came out of nowhere and was sideways in the lane," she said. "I slammed on my brakes, but we just totally crashed."
The other car's passenger side hit Reed's passenger side, leaving Reed's car with around $12,000 worth of damage.
The other driver, a 16-year old, told the police that she was reaching for something in her car when she fell off the road, hit the guardrail and then ended up in the other lane. However, Reed and the police did not seem to buy that story. The driver was issued a citation.
As the statistics indicate, these types of accidents happen all the time. The National Highway Traffic Safety Association (NHTSA) reported that drivers aged 16-24 use their cell phones at higher rates than any other age group.
Captain Stephen VanWinkle of the Miami University Police Department reports that while there are no quantifiable records of car accidents caused by texting and driving, many student pedestrians texting while walking put themselves in danger of being hit. Additionally, VanWinkle said that many drivers do not openly admit to texting and driving when they hit the back of another car.
First-year student Kelly, whose name has been changed to protect her identity, was one of those drivers. When she was 17, she was driving home while distracted in rainy weather.
"I was just texting one of my friends about getting ice cream or something," she said. "When I looked up from reading the text, it was just a little too late."
The slick roads and the delayed reaction time because of her distraction made it impossible for Kelly's car to stop in time. She hit the car in front of her, causing a fender bender, with her car taking the brunt of the damage.
Scared about the consequences she could face, Kelly lied to the police and her parents about what caused the accident and blamed the slick roads.
"I felt super embarrassed and awful about actually getting in a texting and driving accident because of all the lectures in school warning us against it," Kelly said.
Kelly learned her lesson the hard way, but this mistake still haunts her because of how many people get hurt and even killed in accidents caused by texting and driving.
Reed was fortunate enough to walk away from her accident with no injuries, but she said she will not be texting and driving any time soon.
"This experience made me more mad than anything," she said. "You need to be responsible while driving. This is a good reminder to pay attention."