Poor choices in life often have consequences that impact many people for years.
Poor choices and their consequences were highlighted Wednesday at the Littlefork-Big Falls School, where a mock car crash demonstrated for students what can happen when driving while distracted or impaired.
With with spring comes proms, graduations and other celebrations that can sometimes lead young people to make poor decisions when getting behind the wheel.
We urge parents, teachers and others to make clear to the young people in their lives that life, as they know it, can change in an instant as a result of a poor choice.
Clearly, many L-BF students were moved as they watched Wednesday’s scenario unfold.
Littlefork area emergency responders and law officers know too well how one mistake while driving impacts the victims of an accident, their loved ones, and the people who may be held accountable.
They urged students to carefully consider their actions and the consequences — death, injury, guilt and incarceration — that could follow them through the rest of their lives.
In an effort to drive the point home, state traffic safety officials and law enforcement agencies this week launched a distracted driving education campaign anchored by increased enforcement Thursday.
Driver distraction is a contributing factor in one-quarter of all Minnesota vehicle crashes annually — and resulting in 208 deaths and nearly 26,000 injuries in the last three years, according to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
In Minnesota, it is illegal for drivers to read, compose or send texts and emails, and access the web on a wireless device while the vehicle iss in motion or a part of traffic — even at a stoplight or stop sign, or stuck in traffic. It is also illegal for drivers under age 18 to use a cell phone at any time.
Minnesota’s “no texting” law was enacted in August 2008 and citations have increased each year: 2008 (five months) — 93; 2009 — 294; 2010 — 518; 2011 — 784, notes the department.
We must all do a better job to decrease those numbers and increase safety for everyone’s sake. And part of that is helping to make young drivers aware of the true dangers of distracted driving.
Kudos to all involved in Wednesday’s mock accident scenario. They have the best interests of our youth and community in mind and are taking action to show it.
