Douglas R. Horn, Founder of Horn Law, has taken his “Drive By Example” driver safety program to the Metropolitan Community Colleges in Greater Kansas City, encouraging students to model the driving habits and behaviors that protect themselves, their passengers, and others on the roadway. Started by Horn in 2011, Drive By Example is a community service initiative dedicated to advancing driver safety, particularly in the area of distracted driving prevention.
Horn, a long-time crash lawyer and driving safety advocate, began Drive By Example in response to the national epidemic of distracted driving caused by cell phone use behind the wheel. His program has gained momentum as he works with a variety of different organizations to help develop and implement effective driver safety programs.
Horn is especially proud of his work with the 5 campuses that make up the Metropolitan Community Colleges. Appearing at the MCC- Maple Woods campus, Horn indicated that community college students are particularly vulnerable for a distracted driving accident due to the fact that they must commute to school every day. This, coupled with the fact that most students highly depend upon cell phones, demonstrates why it is vital to alert these students to the new universe of risk on the roadway.
Yesterday, in addition to providing live reports on Channel 41 Morning News, Horn brought his specially outfitted driving simulator to the Maple Woods Student Center, giving a students a chance to come face to face with the consequences of dangerous driving. Drive By Example, aided by student volunteers, also provided students with information about the dangers of drugs and alcohol. Recent statistics show that 80% of college freshman have tried drugs and/or alcohol.
During the Thursday morning newscast on 41 Action News KSHB-TV(NBC), Horn said that although impaired driving often leads to tragedy, distracted driving is actually more dangerous. “The key factor is reaction time, the time it takes for a driver to avoid a collision. While drunk drivers have some reaction time, distracted drivers have no reaction time. As a result, distracted driving collisions usually involve a severe force of impact more likely to cause serious injury and death.”
As a Kansas City car accident lawyer, Horn has seen a dramatic increase in the types of accidents that cause drivers to be killed. He pointed to a tragic accident that happened on July 17, 2013 where a Gardner woman died in a rollover crash on I-35 in southern Johnson County, Kansas. Several days later Horn was on 41 Action News with Cynthia Newsome reminding viewers how important it is to drive, alert, buckled, and cautious.
