Retiring for now...

Sorry to say that I’m taking a hiatus on public speaking and interviews regarding Distractive Driving. I have a lot of other things in my life that I need to focus on right now. Thanks to everyone that has supported me and all of the amazing people I’ve meet over the last year.

Drive safe,
Nicole

My PSA

My press conference in Frankfort

Hello all,

Last week I was asked to speak at a press conference held by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. I gave a presentation about my story and experiences from texting and driving to my fellow Kentuckians. It was nice knowing I was giving back to my community and hopefully changing perspectives on the dangers of distracted driving.

Also at the press conference, there was a distracted driving simulator. For those of you who don’t know what this is, it’s like a car video game, except no racing. You are in a driver’s seat with a steering wheel, break and gas pedals, everything a basic car would need to drive. In front of you are three large screens where you can pick scenery to drive. While you are driving, the highway safety control stands behind you, texting with you, seeing how you are able to drive while texting. At the end of the drive, you can watch a video of how you drove, and the results are extremely realistic.

Before and after the press conference, I was interviewed by several state TV and radio stations. I was so excited to hear I was on NPR because that is one of my favorite stations to listen to in the car. It is weird being in front of all these cameras, but it didn’t seem to bother me.

After the press conference was over, we were given a tour of the Kentucky department of transportation government building. I was very impressed by how big it was and also how many different jobs you can do at the cabinet. We toured the War Room, and got to visit the Homeland Security department too.

This totally inspired me to work for a department of transportation in the future. I hope Kentucky laws are passed to ban texting and driving, and hopefully one day make it a national law.

What do you think about anti-texting laws? Do you think it will help prevent fewer accidents? Don’t hesitate to comment below!

Hope you all had a fantastic weekend!

Frankfort, KY... Here I come!

Hey guys,

Late last week I was asked to speak in Frankfort, KY for the transportation cabinet of Kentucky press conference. During this conference, I will be speaking to many people including the transportation cabinet of Kentucky, police officers, and local high school students. I want to ensure that after I give my presentation that people have a greater sense of the dangers of texting while driving. I have prepared a PowerPoint to accompany my presentation. I want everyone to visually see what impacted me, hoping that it impacts them as well.

The main ideas I want to communicate

- the safety issues involved with phone use while driving
- my ideas on how to alleviate the growing distracted driving problems
- how to raise teen awareness of the issue
- how my own experience negatively impacted my life


I have lived through a terrible accident that resulted from me making a poor choice, and I want to use my second chance to spread awareness of the dangers of distracted driving. My experience has opened my eyes to the real problem and I am trying to help fix it. The ultimate goal of my speech is to encourage laws to be passed which would make cell phone use in the car illegal. I am sure not everyone would be excited about the prospect of more strict driving laws; however I think these laws are important to ensure the safety of everyone. I just want to get my story out there for everyone to hear and understand, so maybe when they pick up their phone while driving, they second think, and maybe save a life.

I leave tomorrow morning, wish me luck!

xoxoxoxo

Cool news!

I have been very busy these last few days with school, homework, and my job. I wanted to give a quick shout out to a competition the NYOS and National Road Safety Foundation has put together for young drivers. They announced this contest last week at the Distracted Driving Summit I attended in DC.

Long story short, this competition is for a high school students who can come up with the best ideas for a PSA (public service announcement) to alert others about the dangers of using the phone behind the wheel. You can find the information by going to www.drivetolife.com.

I think it's really important for high school kids to be creative in a positive way. Take advantage of this incredible opportunity!

I am so tired right now and have an early day ahead of me tomorrow. I promise to have more up soon - be safe!

How did I get in Seventeen?

I’ve received a lot of questions lately on how I actually got into Seventeen magazine. Many people assume I submitted my story and they chose mine, which is not what happened.

One night as I was getting ready for bed, I checked my facebook and noticed I had a message from someone I didn’t know. I checked the message and as I started reading, this is what it said:

---
Hey, Nicole--

I'm Jess, one of the editors at Seventeen Magazine in NY. I know it may seem sketchy to get a message from someone claiming to work at Seventeen, but I promise I'm legit--you can see my name and articles in any issue of the magazine.

Anyway, I'm writing an article about driving-while-texting, and I'm looking to interview a girl (over the phone) who totaled her car driving-while-texting--would you be interested in finding out more about my article, so that you can decide if you'd want to be interviewed for it?

If so, please just let me know the best phone # to reach you at, and I'll give you a call asap.

I'll hope to hear from you as soon as possible (unfortunately, I'm on a tight deadline), and I appreciate you considering my message.

Thanks a lot,
Jess
---

After reading this message, I totally thought it was a scam. I thought, there is no way someone found out about my story from Seventeen, how did they even know how to get a hold of me?

Long story short… Seventeen magazine, from what I understand, was asking people all over facebook if anybody knew a girl my age that had totaled their car from texting. I have absolutely no idea who told them I did, but whoever did told them my name and what network to find me on.

To this day it is still a mystery who told Seventeen about me, and I wish somebody would tell me! But regardless, I got in the magazine. They loved my story because I mentioned I had an iphone, which is now one of the most popular cell phones people have. They thought it was important people understood the danger in not only cell phones, but touch screen cell phones, where you can’t feel the buttons you are pressing.

Anyways, I just thought I would confirm that I did not go to Seventeen begging them to put my story in their magazine. If it wasn’t for Seventeen, I would have never thought to get my message out to people. To be honest I didn’t think much of it until they interviewed me over the phone, that made me realize what I stupid thing I had done. After realizing how stupid, it was eye opening to how many people do text and drive.

So a huge shout out to everyone at Seventeen. I couldn’t be where I am today without you all.

Distracted Driving Summit

This past Thursday, October 1st I was in Washington DC speaking at the Distracted Driving Summit that was put on by the Department of Transportation. I was on a youth panel that was put on by Ann Shoket from Seventeen Magazine. The panel consisted of Reggie Shaw, Natalie Hayford, and me. It was a very cool and life changing experience. I have so much respect for both of them.

Reggie Shaw was 19 years old when he was driving to work in Utah; it was just like any other day. He was on his cell phone, sending and receiving texts. It had been something he was comfortable with, just like I was. All of a sudden he drifted across the center line and struck another car. There were two men in the car, and they were both killed on impact. It was very emotional hearing his story. He is such an amazing person, and never intended on hurting anybody. You can tell he carries a burden with him everywhere he goes. I know Reggie would never want to hurt anybody; he was just using his cell phone. After Reggie’s accident, Utah has one of the strictest laws in the United States when it comes to texting and driving. He now goes around to schools in Utah talking about his experience and the importance of texting and driving. Watch Reggie's emotional story, it is very life changing.

Natalie on the other hand had no emotional experience when it came to texting and driving. She realized how dangerous it was by common sense. She is very involved in her school and in her local SADD chapter (students against distracted driving). I have a lot of respect for what she does just to look out for her peers. She makes me want to take back time and get involved in my high school.

The panel was an experience in itself. I didn’t get as nervous as I expected. When you are speaking from experience, there are no lines to practice. Watch the video, it’s on the bottom right titled "Youth Panel"

Have a great day :-)