Education

Video: A daughter devotes her life to stopping distracted driving

JULIE LANE PHOTO Karen Torres knows a quick glance down at a cellphone can cost lives as it cost her father when he was struck by the truck shown on the screen.
JULIE LANE PHOTO
Karen Torres knows a quick glance down at a cellphone can cost lives as it cost her father when he was struck by the truck shown on the screen.

“He saw it coming but he couldn’t move fast enough.”Karen Torres has devoted the past nine years of her life to carrying the message of  how a single moment of distraction can result in the loss of lives.

On St. Patrick’s Day, 2006 , the day after he turned 66, Ms. Torres’ father, Patrick Mapleson, lost his life when he was struck by a cement truck on Sunrise Highway while working as a member of a State Department of Transportation road crew.

The Miller Place woman formed ALL4UDAD after her father’s death and has worked with the American Automobile Association, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles and Cohen Children’s Medical Center to spread the word of how distracted driving kills.

Mr. Mapleson saw the truck barreling toward him, tried to move and put his hand up as he locked eyes with driver John Gagliano, the truck driver had told her. Mr. Gagliano had reached for a bottle of water that slipped and as he tried to grab it, that distracted moment cost Mr. Mapleson his life.

Mr. Mapleson’s face, Mr. Gagliano had told Ms. Torres following the fatal accident that killed her dad, was the first thing he saw in his mind’s eye in the morning when he awakened and the last thing he saw before falling off to sleep at night.

“You must hate me,” the driver told her.

“I don’t hate him,” she said Tuesday night at Shelter Island School where she had come hoping to spread the message to parents and students about how easily a life can be lost or people seriously injured because of a fleeting distracted moment.

Now, she can only visit her dad’s grave site with no more happy occasions for the family to share.

Perhaps because it’s June and the community is focused on graduation and  summer plans , no one but school officials and Police Chief Jim Read showed up to hear Ms. Torres.

Earlier, she had delivered her message to students at a daytime assembly. This time, she was hoping to hammer it home to the wider community, and  has offered to return.

Last August, Mr. Gagliano died when a cement truck he was driving struck a median and overturned on Sunrise Highway.

Mr. Gagliano’s brother-in-law told Newsday following that accident that the trucker was a safe driver. Police had impounded the vehicle for a safety check.

Through a series of dramatic pictures, Ms. Torres demonstrated how a brief second can result in death or life-altering injury.

You hear the sounds of crashes and the voices of victims and their families. Was that text so important?

Often the last text sent before an accident is something innocuous, something that could well have waited, Ms. Torres said.

One series of pictures demonstrated how a moment’s distraction can rob a driver of perception.

First, Ms. Torres showed a picture that kept changing several times. It was easy to count each change. Then she showed a picture in which a split second of black screen appeared after each change. It was impossible to identify the changes.

That black screen represents the moment a driver is texting, speaking on a cellphone, eating or drinking, looking at a GPS screen or adjusting a radio or iPod,, Ms. Torres said.

“No one ever thinks it’s going to be them” and the more experiences they have practicing such distracted driving techniques, the safer they feel continuing to do so, Ms. Torres said.

When polled, about 43 percent of teens admit to texting while driving, but more than 50 percent say their parents do the same, she said.

In her presentation, we witness a woman with three young girls in her car as she glances at her cellphone. Her car is struck by another vehicle and all three girls — her daughter and two nieces — were killed.

There are pictures of pedestrians texting while walking, with Ms. Torres pointing out any behavior that takes attention away from your movement can be a challenge.

And there’s a message for parents — children watch what you do more than they listen to what you say.

Ms. Torres’ own experience occurred with her daughter, who failed to stop at a stop sign. When she pointed out the error, her daughter was quick to say that she had witnessed mom roll through that same stop sign many times.

There are apps to help assure drivers aren’t distracted by cellphones — whether it’s calls or texts.
Lifesaver turns the phone off when the engine turns on. There are similar apps for Android and iPhone users.

Ms. Torres uses one with her daughter, who she rewards with money for gasoline for every 150 miles of safe driving.

Meanwhile, she’ll continue her quest because she sees the faces of students and hears the hush that falls over an auditorium of her listeners when her message finally hits home.

“If you can reach one person, it’s worth it,” she said.

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