Maria Espinoza experienced a life-changing event when a distracted driver hit her 6-year-old son during a walk to school. Her son was in a coma for six months, with doctors unsure if he would recover. However, he defied expectations and is now studying to become a physical therapist. Maria is advocating for road safety, urging drivers to focus on the road.

"We don’t want this to happen to any other family. We want to save lives and create responsibility," Espinoza said. "If I take the responsibility and you take the responsibility today, that will make a difference."

In 2024, distracted driving caused over 91,000 crashes in Texas, resulting in more than 370 deaths. The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is addressing this issue with its Talk. Text. Crash. campaign during Distracted Driving Awareness Month in April.

"Everyone knows they should focus while driving, but too many people still take their eyes off the road to check a text, fiddle with their dashboard or grab a bite to eat," TxDOT Executive Director Marc Williams said. "We want to make it clear: no text or call is worth a life."

Texting while driving is illegal in Texas, with fines up to $200 for offenders. Many cities have stricter laws banning all handheld device use while driving.

TxDOT advises drivers to stay focused by keeping both hands on the wheel and eyes on the road, use "Do not Disturb" mode on phones while driving, and pull over safely if they need to send messages.

The Talk. Text. Crash. campaign includes a driving simulator traveling across Texas to demonstrate how distractions can lead to accidents.

Talk. Text. Crash. is part of TxDOT’s Drive like a Texan: Kind. Courteous. Safe initiative aimed at promoting safe driving practices among Texans.

For more information, visit https://DriveLikeATexan.com.

Information from this article can be found here.