This story is becoming all-too-familiar: a person dies in a car crash, and they weren't drinking, doing drugs, or even speeding—they were on their phone. Last April in High Point, North Carolina, 32-year-old Courtney Ann Sanford crossed the median on Business 85 and crashed head-on into a truck. Sanford, of Clemmons, died at the scene. Investigators were initially puzzled about what caused the crash, but then friends and family came forward with a sad discovery: Stanford had posted to Facebook only seconds before the deadly accident: 

“The Facebook text happened at 8:33 a.m. We got the call on the wreck at 8:34 a.m.,” explains Lt. Chris Weisner, with the High Point Police Department. Investigators say Sanford’s Facebook post read: “The happy song makes me HAPPY!” “In a matter of seconds, a life was over just so she could notify some friends that she was happy,” says Weisner.

As police looked into Sanford's online activity, they discovered that she'd also been posting selfies as she drove down the road.  A recent study shows that 27 percent of drivers admit to posting to Facebook while behind the wheel. With the near-constant media coverage of how dangerous distracted driving is, it's hard to understand why people are still prioritizing staying in touch with friends above the safety of themselves and those around them. Distracted driving is just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, as being under the influence of drugs or alcohol, but the stigma doesn't yet match that of intoxicated driving. Stories like this indicate that one of the best things you can do for a friend is to call them out when you see this sort of behavior—let's stop tolerating smartphone use behind the wheel.   Previously:  Texting isn’t our only problem: Smartphone use while driving is completely out of control