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CHARLOTTE—AAA Carolinas is making another big push to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving. They launched a new campaign Wednesday, which features the cautionary story of a Charlotte teenager taken too soon, because he didn't put down the phone.
Mourning the loss of her son for the better part of a decade, Tammy Garlock says she still struggles with the question: ‘Why?’
"I cannot tell you as a parent how difficult it is to know that your child lost their life over the simple press of a button," said Garlock.
Brian Garlock, 17, was driving home from his summer job in Pineville June 12, 2008 when he was hit and killed by two pick-up trucks. Nine days after his sudden and tragic death, his mother said she discovered what caused the crash, buried in the wreckage that was her son's car.
"I took his cell phone, plugged it in and later determined it was a contributing factor in his accident. As he attempted to turn left out of the neighborhood he had been working in that day, he also decided to make a phone call," she said.
Her son's story is featured in a new campaign by AAA-Carolinas to put a stop to distracted driving called: "Life has no redial, stay off the phone".
A special PSA will hit airwaves soon along with signage on delivery trucks and gas pumps throughout the Carolinas.Click & Close Ads
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"This comes as we're in the middle of the ‘100 deadliest days for teens.’ That's the time from Memorial Day through Labor Day where we see teen fatalities historically climb," said Tiffany Wright with AAA Carolinas.
The Garlock family is also working with lawmakers to pass a hands-free law in North Carolina. That would make holding your cell phone while behind the wheel illegal.Click & Close Ads
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Wednesday, July 1, 2015
