Tragic stories like these will never get easier to hear: A young person with her whole life ahead of her, loved by friends and family, killed in an instant because of texting while driving. Mariah West, a teen killed in a devasting crash while texting at the wheel, has become somewhat of a figurehead for the movement to raise awareness about the dangers of handheld phone use in the car. See her heartbreaking story, and others', in the AT&T sponsored "Don't Text and Drive Documentary" from their "It Can Wait" Campaign.

A popular study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute concluded that the risk of a crash while texting increases by 23 times, as reading or sending a text diverts the driver's eyes from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds—the same as driving the length of a football field, blind, at 55 mph. We think that statistic speaks for itself. Put your phone in your ORIGO™ and resist the temptation to text and drive.

Read more here: http://www.vtnews.vt.edu/articles/2009/07/2009-571.html

The two main characteristics that set humans apart from other animals are our opposable thumbs and superior intellect. We’re smart enough to make the phones and the cars (and we’ve got the thumbs to use them) but 6,000 deaths last year due to texting while driving prove that we’re not smart enough to do both at the same time. When you get in the car, put the phone down, or better yet, in your ORIGO™.

Yesterday, the ORIGO™ team attended the NOYS (National Organization for Youth Safety) Teen Distracted Driving Summit in Washington, DC. The summit was an energized gathering of teens road safety/anti-distracted driving organizations, all of whom are passionate about taking back our roads from distracted drivers (click for a full list of organizations in attendance). We were floored by some of the touching accounts of how the devastating effects of distracted driving have changed the lives of these young people and their families, and more than impressed by their efforts and achievements in the fight against the number 1 killer on our roads today, not to mention the exuberance they exhibit for the cause (See pic below, making some NOYS Noise!). This was ORIGO™’s first real interaction with a group like this, and we were absolutely thrilled to be part of such a movement! We can’t wait to work alongside these likeminded folks and their organizations; the energy at this summit showed us that there are some incredible possibilities on the horizon for the fight against distracted driving. I caught up with Meg Smith, ORIGO™’s Marketing Strategist, to get her take on the event.

Meg, what was the atmosphere at the distracted driving summit?

MS: It was really just constant excitement. It was really refreshing to see all of these teens taking such initiative at such a young age. Though it was an educational summit, it felt like we were part of a quest for a solution. It felt like a cry for help, because, though people have tried, what we are doing to prevent distracted driving isn’t working. We all need a real solution and they realize that.

How was the feedback about the ORIGO™ solution?

MS: The feedback was incredible. Every single young person that passed by stopped to find out what we were doing, what our solution is about. They didn’t just sit and watch the demos; They asked questions, they wanted to know how it worked, how it prevented distracted driving, and, once they understood it, what they could do to promote it!

Were you surprised by the amount of positive feedback?

MS: We were delighted, but we weren’t surprised, we are confident that our solution is great! Of course, it is always nice to get some affirmation about something you have worked hard on.

Did you sense the need for the ORIGO™ solution while you were there?

MS: Absolutely. In fact, at one point someone asked Administrator David Strickland from the National Highway Transportation Safety Association (NHTSA) what the next step we, as a community, can take in the fight against distracted driving. He answered the question by explaining that what we need is a technology solution that takes the phone physically out of the driver’s hands as soon as they get in the car. Sound familiar? It was really surreal to hear him describe precisely the solution we are bringing to the table at ORIGO™. Not to mention the fact that many of the people who passed by the ORIGO™ exhibit indicated that our solution is exactly what they have been waiting for.

So what is ORIGO’s role in the fight against distracted driving?

MS: Our role here is to take the phone out of the driver’s hands completely. There are many forms of distracted driving, but texting while driving is quickly becoming the number one killer on our roads today, even surpassing drunk driving, and our role is to tackle texting, surfing the web, and performing other dangerous handheld phone activities while driving. There have been many attempts to solve this problem, but until now, none has really worked.  The problem is getting out of control, and for the sake of the kids at this summit, and everyone on the road, we are going to stop it.

So what is the main thing you took away from the summit?

MS: I just keep thinking about the kids we met there. There were two girls who came and talked to us for over half an hour, one of whom had lost her sister due to texting and driving. Her story was devastating, but her hope and passion for channeling her loss into a means of making a difference for others was truly inspiring. These are seriously brave young people, who have suffered terrible losses due to distracted driving, and are in dire need of a real solution. What I took away is that no one else should have to go through what this girl and countless others have gone through…and this speaks to your last question about ORIGO™’s role in the fight against distracted driving. Our role is not only to provide a solution, but also to listen to these young people who have made a bad decision to text and drive, or lost someone due to distracted driving, and show them there is a way for them to feel safer on the roads, and that no one else should have to suffer at the hands of a distracted driver.