As a driver, Joe Zercie, a senior in the CLIU Unit 21 class at CCTI in Jim Thorpe, realizes the importance of staying focused and paying attention to the road and he wanted to share that message with his classmates.

For his senior project, he chose a program on "Distracted Driving," which pointed out the distractions such as MP3 players, cell phones, text messaging, grooming, eating, drinking, smoking, and even reading.Bringing home the urgent message of Joe's senior project recently was Dr. Bryan Kane, an Emergency Medicine Physician at Lehigh Valley Hospital, hope has been to work for one shift with no traffic accident victims but so far, that has yet to be realized.Some of the injured and dying Dr. Kane treats are the victims of distracted driving, talking or texting on a cell phone, or other activities that take a driver's attention away from the road.The statistics of this growing problem are alarming.Nationally nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted driver and more than 500,000 were injured in 2008, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.The risk of crashes is higher among 16 to 19 year olds than any other age group according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.About 3,000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 were killed in motor vehicle accidents and more than 350,000 were treated for injuries in emergency rooms in 2009 according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.The danger multiplies when there are other teens in a car, and especially if alcohol is involved.Kane pointed out how important just one second can make in reaction time while driving. At 60 miles per hour you travel 88 feet in one second.It takes 0.75 seconds to react to a problem and another 0.75 seconds to move your foot to the brake. Only then, after 1.5 seconds, can your brakes begin to stop the car.In that 1.5 seconds at 60 miles per hour, the vehicle could have traveled 132 feet, almost half the length of a football field, before the brakes begin to stop the vehicle.It then takes about another 3 seconds for the brakes to stop the vehicle. By then, the vehicle would have traveled well over the length of a football field.A wet road increases the stopping time by 50 percent and if it is snow covered, the stopping time now can be tripled.Cell phones are also a major distraction. The majority of Americans own cell phones and using a cell phone while driving can increase the risk of a accident by 400 percent.Contrary to popular belief, multitasking is not possible, Kane said, since your brain can only move forward with one thing at a time.Kane, along with Joe Zercie and CCTI's SADD chapter, all hope that their message about distracted driving finds a receptive ear and can eventually save lives. Although the statistics prove that teen drivers are more vulnerable, they realize that this is a sobering reminder for drivers of all ages.