Students To See New Video On Driving Distractions

BALTIMORE (AP) -- The Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore and the Motor Vehicle Administration have created a video for driver training courses that shows an accident trigged by distracted driving.

Between 2007 and 2011, 1,100 people were killed and 152,000 people were hurt in such crashes in Maryland. At an event Friday to publicize the "GET THE MESSAGE" video, Dr. Thomas Scalea, the head of Shock Trauma, said those injuries are preventable.

MVA Administrator John Kuo says sending or reading a text takes a driver's eyes off the road for almost five seconds. At 55 mph, "that's like driving the entire length of a football field blindfolded."

The video shows four young people in a minivan who are hurt when the driver crashes into a fence because he's texting.

(Copyright 2012 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)