New Documentary by German Filmmaker Highlights Seriousness of Texting While Driving

German Filmmaker Captures Horror of Texting While Driving

Texting while driving is extremely dangerous, but often people do not take it seriously because they don’t believe that a car accident will happen to them if they are distracted by their cellphone.  However, statistics show that looking at one text takes your eyes away from the road for an average of 4.5 seconds, which is enough to drive your car the length of a football field.  Safety organizations, the Federal Government, and phone companies are urgent to teach drivers the dangers of texting while driving and stop the needless accidents, injuries and deaths that result.  To accomplish this goal, AT&T approached German filmmaker Werner Herzog, maker of dozens of films and award winner of the Cannes Film Festival, to epitomize the seriousness of texting while driving in a new film aimed at young audiences.

From One Second to the Next

The new film is called From One Second to the Next focuses on four different accidents caused by texting and driving.  Some of these accidents were fatal, and Herzog aims his lens at both victims and those who were texting while driving.   He asks them to describe in detail what happened before and after the accidents, and includes the impact on all of society by incorporating an accident in which an Amish family was killed and another in which a horse-shoer was killed while driving his truck.

National Safety Council Cites High Texting While Driving Stats

The National Safety Council estimates that roughly 200,000 crashes in 2011 involved texting while driving, and an AT&T survey found that 75% of teens say that texting while driving is common among their friends.  AT&T and other safety organizations are hopeful that Mr. Herzog’s documentary will be powerful enough to change these statistics and save lives.  You can take a look for yourself and hear the life-altering stories of the individuals that both caused and were injured by texting while driving accidents and decide if it’s worth it to answer that text while behind the wheel.