In a matter of seconds, distracted driving could lead to life-changing, and sometimes fatal, consequences. Watch video
NEPTUNE TOWNSHIP -- In a matter of seconds, distracted driving could lead to life-changing, and sometimes fatal, consequences.
That's the message the Monmouth County Sheriff's Office is spreading to teenagers -- and their parents -- in schools across the county in honor of Distracted Driving Awareness month.
"It only takes a second," Sheriff's Officer Michelle Melendez said Wednesday in front of more than 800 students gathered at the Neptune High School Performing Arts Center. "We're not always able to do two things at one time and give 100 percent (to each). Should you be giving driving 100 percent? Absolutely."
The hour-long presentation, "Distracted Driving-Seconds that could Change or End Your life," included grisly photos of crash victims and stomach-turning recreations of car collisions. One video told the story of how a star high school football player, who earned a scholarship, went from training for athletics to learning how to walk again.
The images were all too familiar for Neptune High School Principal Richard Allen and Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden, who spent six years working in the fatal accident unit before becoming the county's chief law enforcement officer.
"One of the worst things I have done in my law enforcement and public safety career, for that six-year period, is knock on the family member's door, in the middle of the night and sometimes during the day, and have to tell them that their family member died in a (crash)," Golden said.
Allen, who has been an administrator for 23 years, said he's seen at least one teenager die from car crashes every other year of his career. But, programs like the sheriff's office's presentation, do have an impact on the student body and the entire community, he said.
"Our kids watch that and then they take the message and bring it out to the community," Allen said. "They become the moral compass for the people that they're with."
After the presentation, the students filed out of the auditorium and raised a flag lined with their signatures. By signing the flag, the students pledged not to drive distracted.
For Neptune High School seniors Jillian Clohosey, Nehemiah Cotton and Danielle Fields, the hands-on aspect and the visuals of the distracted driving program helped make the learning experience more realistic.
"I feel like it made us realize how big of an impact distracted driving can be," Clohosey said. "You can go to presentations, but you don't always get a visual."
Cotton said the program increased his awareness of distracted driving and made him realize how dangerous it could be.
All three students said they have witnessed people texting and driving. Fields said next time she's in the car with a distracted driver, she'll have a different approach than she used to.
"Let me text for you, or don't text at all," she said.
Before the presentation started, as students were waiting for more of their peers to arrive in the auditorium, they casually carried on conversations and greeted each other. As the presentation went on, the auditorium was silent -- until a video of a crash would appear on the screen. Once the collision was shown, the sound of shrieks and gasps filled the auditorium. Many students sat with stoic expressions, glued to the screen.
Sheriff's Officer's Iliana Santos and Michelle Melendez, who led the presentation, offered the following tips to prevent distracted driving: get into a routine, silence cellphones or put them on do not disturb mode, plan your route and consider the weather.
Santos and Melendez warned that distracted driving could not only lead to death, but could come with serious legal ramifications.
If distracted driving causes a crash, "please believe there are legal consequences," Santos said. "You're not just going to walk away and say, 'sorry.'"
Alex Napoliello may be reached at anapoliello@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @alexnapoNJ. Find NJ.com on Facebook.