Amanda Umscheid sent her sister a text on May 16, 2009, and never got a return response. She soon found out from a family member that her sister had been involved in a fatal accident caused by texting while driving.
“Knowing that I was the person she was talking to when she was killed is a guilt that is never going to go away,” she said. “It’s so hard to put into perspective if you’ve never been affected by it, but all we can do is tell our stories and the consequences in the hopes it helps to save lives.”
Umscheid, a Kansas resident, and others similarly affected by texting while driving shared their stories and statistics with interested Michigan residents at the Buckle Up, Stop Texting, or B.U.S.T., event held Saturday afternoon at Breslin Center.
The event was sponsored by Memorial Healthcare of Owosso, Mich., and featured speakers and videos promoting awareness of the dangers of texting while driving.
Those in attendance for the event received free B.U.S.T. T-shirts, and additionally were able to sign pledges to help them remember not to text and drive, said Barb Holland, business development manager for Memorial Healthcare.
Holland said the main purpose of the event, and similar events Memorial Healthcare plans to put on in the future, was to put the issue of texting while driving at the forefront.
“It’s all about raising awareness of safety issues,” Holland said. “We just want drivers of all ages practicing safe driving habits.”
Lansing resident Becky Balger said she decided to come check out the B.U.S.T. event because she has texted while driving before and wanted to learn about the potential consequences of her actions. She said the stories, videos and information provided at B.U.S.T. convinced her to stop texting while driving for good.
“People told me not to text and drive, but I did anyway — coming to this made a really big impact,” Balger said. “Now I see why those four seconds looking away from the road could make a difference.”
Balger said she thought events such as B.U.S.T. should be more frequent and widespread to keep the public in the know about issues with texting while driving.
“I don’t think (the texting while driving issue) has the awareness it needs,” she said.
Umscheid said one of her main goals in continuing to share her story was the hope she would convince people to stop texting while driving, and prevent them from feeling the pain her family has felt since her sister’s accident.
“Something that drives what I do is being able to keep families together,” Umscheid said. “Getting my story across is helping open their eyes and possibly save their lives.”
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