ANGLETON – Distracted or impaired driving has affected the lives of so many people and now one woman is hoping her angel trees can remind people about the importance of driving safe and being aware on the road. Mindy Red has over 300 photos of victims affected by distracted or impaired driving on trees outside her front yard as a reminder to those about the families they can affect by not following the rules of the road.
With the rapid adoption of smartphones in the United States, distracted driving has become a hot topic in traffic safety. While cell phones and navigation devices often are the culprit when it comes to distracted driving, conventional distractions such as interacting with passengers and eating also contribute to crashes. Distracting tasks can affect drivers in different ways and can be categorized as visual, manual and cognitive distraction. These angel trees are a constant reminder of why Mindy wants people to be aware when they are on the road and hopefully practice better driving habits.
The National Safety Council (NSC) analysis of National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) data finds that 2,841 people died in distraction-affected crashes in 2018. That number continues to grow now that we are in 2020 and Mindy hopes that she can stop these angel trees from growing. She works hard everyday to talk to families that have a lost loved one and encourage other families that have loved ones that have survived. If you would like to help her cause, please reach out to Mindy at bluemandj@gmail.com