Powerful web video shows texting can wait

Reggie Shaw reflects on the accident that resulted in the death of two scientists on their way to work. Shaw was texting and driving when his car went over the center line and crashed head on into their car, which sent them spinning into an oncoming truck. His story and others appear in the powerful new 30-minute documentary from acclaimed director Werner Herzog. It’s available free on the Internet.

Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog wants to bring an end to texting and driving. In his powerful 35-minute public service announcement, “From One Second to the Next,” Herzog documents the stories of serious traffic accidents caused by texting and driving told by various perpetrators and their victims alike. This film shows how their lives were changed forever due to the mistake of pulling out their cellphones.

Among the film’s subjects are Xzavier, a young boy who was a victim of a texting and driving accident, and he is now paralyzed from the diaphragm down. In the film, his mother and sister talk about the struggles of everyday life due to one teenager’s stupid mistake.

Along with victims, Herzog knew it would also be important to point the camera at perpetrators of fatal accidents due to texting and driving.

One of them is Reggie Shaw, who killed two men while he was texting on a Utah highway. Shaw now speaks at schools about the dangers of texting and driving.

“The real essential thing is we have to see what is happening — and it’s not just an accident, not just the mechanics of an accident. It’s a new form of culture coming at us and it’s coming with great vehemence,” Herzog said on an interview for NPR Radio.

“From One Second to the Next” has generated over 2 million hits on Youtube and has impacted many social media sites since its debut on Aug. 8. A 12-minute version of “From One Second to the Next” will be shown in 40,000 high schools this school year.

In addition to appearing on YouTube, the film can also be viewed at ItCanWait.com, where one can learn about the dangers of texting and driving and take a pledge to never text and drive.

Over 100,000 accidents a year involve drivers who are texting, and the numbers are climbing sharply. A text message is never worth someone’s life. It can wait.