I follow the dad of a distracted driving victim on Twitter. And on December 15, at the Road to Zero Coalition meeting in Arlington, VA, I met someone from North Carolina who has been working with Vijay Dixit to reach some of his goals — like making distracted driving taboo. Over and over, he shared with me how he has been inspired by Vijay.

After losing his daughter, Shreya, due to distracted driving, Vijay has been actively working toward that goal and now has a book in print to make that point: One Split Second.

“Building Distraction-free Driving Communities, One Driver at a Time”

I would echo that mission statement and add the other traffic safety issues as well –including driver behaviors, vehicle safety, crash avoidance technologies, and safer infrastructure — which could all contribute to preventing tragic loss of life.

And establishing a White House Commission on Traffic Safety — like Reagan’s Commission on Drunk Driving — could go a long way toward making a dent in the relentless rate of Death by Motor Vehicle.