SALAMANCA — In an effort to make area roads safer, the Seneca Nation of Indians sponsored several “Hang Up and Drive” programs presented by Jacy Good, an advocate who discusses the reality of irreparable damage caused by distracted driving.
Good has been a guest on The Oprah Winfrey Show and of Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations’ “call to end the global epidemic of distracted driving.” She was a panelist at Maria Shriver’s 2010 Women’s Conference and was featured as a “Hero Among Us” in People Magazine. She has also been featured in dozens of newspaper and TV pieces.
She has given the “Hang Up and Drive” presentation to nearly 300 different audiences in 26 states since 2011.
Tribal Councilor Arlene Bova introduced Good, saying it was an honor to have her present the program through which she shares a very important message.
May 18, 2008, started off as one of the best days of Good’s life. Her college graduation day went smoothly and her belongings were packed up in the family station wagon. She said a temporary goodbye to her long-term boyfriend, Steve Johnson, and began the 45-minute trip home to Lititz, Pa. Good was looking forward to beginning her dream job as a team leader with Habitat For Humanity a month later. But then tragedy hit.
Good said about halfway home, her parents car entered an intersection with a green light while an 18-wheeler did the same in the opposite lane. However, on the intersecting road, a young man was so distracted by his mobile phone conversation that he attempted to turn left — going through his red light. The tractor trailer swerved to avoid him and hit the Good’s family car head-on.
Her parents died instantly on the scene and Good was left barely alive. After nearly nine hours of surgery, Good was given a 10 percent chance of surviving. She spent over four months in the hospital, with Johnson by her side for 12 hours a day, everyday. Though her bones healed, she was left with permanent brain injury that renders her unable to use her left arm or lower leg.
“Stopping at a gas station is the last memory I have before the accident,” Good said. “I had a 10 percent chance of survival and I could stand after three months of therapy.”
She was determined to use what happened to her to change minds, behaviors and laws, which she has been doing since she became able.
In the “Hang Up and Drive” program, Good recounts her tragic story using the aid of home pictures and short video clips of now husband, Steve, who helps her fill in some of the gaps that she can’t recall herself. She incorporates the frightening facts and stats about the distracted driving issue, which is currently the cause of a staggering 26 percent of all traffic accidents.
Good reminds everyone of steps they should take to prevent the use of cellphones while driving.
“When you sit down in that driver’s seat, do whatever it takes to not to pick up that cell phone,” she said. “Turn your phone off or put it on silent. Put it in the glove box so that you can’t pick it up.”
She added more ideas to avoid the temptation including people could change their voicemail and say they can’t pick up because they might be driving. People will understand.
Good said passengers should insist that drivers not use their phones while driving. They can also help by answering or making calls and texts for the driver, as long as the activity doesn’t distract the driver.
“Just one accident can affect so many people and these accidents are happening all around us every day. When people realize that if they don’t change the way they drive, sooner or later this issue is going to ripple and affect everyone,” she said.
Good concluded saying, “There is never anything on our phones that is more important than a human life.”
“We all know that talking on our cell phones while driving is distracting, but that doesn’t stop most people from doing it,” said President Barry E. Snyder Sr. in a recent press release. “This effort is intended to educate our communities and young people about the dangers of cell phone use and other distractions while driving. We hope that once people see the statistics and realize the danger involved, they will change their driving habits to help protect themselves, their families, and others on the road.”
Public presentations were held Jan. 15 at both the Cattaraugus Community Center, in Irving, and the Allegany Community Center, in Salamanca. In addition, the program was also presented at area high schools on Jan. 16 at Silver Creek High School and Lake Shore High School; and Jan. 17 at Gowanda High School and Salamanca Junior-High School.
Good is happy to talk to anybody who’s interested and she is available by email at jacyandsteve@hangupanddrive.com and is also on Facebook and Twitter.
People are encouraged to visit online at hangupanddrive.com or distraction.gov for reported statistics and other information about distracted driving.
Out of respect for Good, Johnson and the countless others whose lives have been touched by a distracted driving tragedy, the public is invited to take the “Hang Up and Drive Pledge” which reads: “I pledge to ‘Hang Up and Drive’ and not use my phone for texting, talking, emailing or anything else that will put lives in danger on the road.”
(This story appears in the Jan. 23, 2014 edition of The Salamanca Press.)
