For the second year, West Texas A&M University hosted the Allyson Ford Project along with national speaker, Jacy Good on March 5 in the Jack B. Kelly student Center. It was brought to campus with the help of WTAMU’s PULSE (Peer Educators).

“Pulse hosted this event with the attempt to raise awareness about texting while driving and remembering the loss of Allyson Ford,” Stephanie Bracket, Assistant Director of Student Activities and Advisor of PULSE, said.

 Allyson Ford, a first year student at WTAMU, was on her way home when she checked her phone and had an accident that resulted in her loss. Ford’s family established the Allyson Ford Project to award scholarships and promote distracted driving. The $1,000 scholarships were awarded on a best-distracted driving poster contest to an area high school and a WTAMU student project focused on distracted driving the day of the event.

“Allyson Ford was a student here at WT and some of my friends had the opportunity to have met her,” Caleb Hubbard, junior Mass Communication major, said. “Allyson was driving home, made a bad decision in checking her phone that caused the accident.”

“Pulse has been trying to raise awareness to certain situations in life that no one wants to talk about,” Chelsea Chavez, junior Mass Communication major, said. “We highlight the important information to get it out for students to take.”

Good, also contacted by PULSE, spoke about her experience. Right after her college graduation, Good and her parents headed home to Lancaster, PA. While on the road they were hit by a tractor-trailer that had dodged a man that was on his phone. Good survived after the doctors had diagnosed a 10 percent chance of survival. Her parents however, were killed in the accident.

“I encourage people to make safe choices,” Good said. “The best thing to do before driving is turning off your phone to avoid any possible distractions.”

Texting and driving has become common in everyday life. There have been laws implemented in order to decrease the use of phones while driving, but people still find other ways to answer unnecessary texts and phone calls while driving. Answering phones has become more of an instinct reaction to most people.

“There are consequences when one texts and drive,” Hubbard said. “Even talking on the phone has severe consequences.”