Inspired by Highway Don't Care by Tim McGraw, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban. Poem based on the Music Video.

*Bang* The sound of the car door echoes throughout the car

I run a hand through my hair

Throwing the key into the ignition

I start the car, revving the engine

I peel out of the parking lot

Leaving the sound of tires squealing

Skid marks, dust and flying gravel

Are left in my wake

The wind blows through the windows

Pulling on my hair

The scenery flies past

And I'm trying not to think of what went wrong

My destination is the only thing on my mind

Pressing the pedal further to the floor

Exhaustion is begging to take over

So I turn on the radio

A song is playing on the station

And the song goes:

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby

I can't live without you, I can't live without you, hm baby"

The highway won't hold me tonight

The highway don't know I'm alive

The highway don't care if I'm all alone

But you do, you do

The highway won't dry my tears

The highway don't need me here

The highway don't care if I'm coming home

But you do, you do

My cellphone is dying in the passenger seat

And I'm definitely bendin' God's ear talking 'bout you

The first tear is threatening to fall out

And I'm trying not to turn around

The sound of the song that's always on fills my ears

So I sing along

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby

I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"

The highway won't hold me tonight

The highway don't know I'm alive

The highway don't care if I'm all alone

But you do, you do

The highway won't dry my tears

The highway don't need me here

The highway don't care if I'm coming home

But you do, you do

*Ding* The sound of your text draws my attention from the road

But my phone is on the floor

I reach for it

Trying to stay on the road

That song that's been on the radio

It's still playing

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby

I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"

I look up

Only to see the ditch I'm heading for

I let out a scream

Trying to get the tires straight again

My efforts to stay on the road fail

I enter the ditch

The car flips over

Pinning me underneath it

My ears are still ringing

The smell of blood is filling my nose

Pain fills my body

And everything fades to black

"911, what's your emergency?"

"I just witnessed a roll over accident on Old Charlotte Pike outside of Nashville!"

"Ok. I got your location. Do you know if anyone's injured?"

"Yes! There's a person pinned under the car!"

Red and blue light up the sky

Sirens blaring into the night

Firefighters pull my mangled body from under the car

While paramedics stabilize me

Vanderbilt Lifeflight lands in a nearby field

Alerting Vanderbilt University Hospital of the incoming patient

A trauma team scrambles to prepare

An operating room on standby

Lifeflight soon lands

The trauma team greeting them

My parents were alerted

So was my significant other

The highway don't care

The highway don't care

The highway don't care

But you do, you do

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"

The trauma team wheels me into the OR

"The highway don't care"

Emergency surgery begins

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby, oh baby"

The cops discover my phone

"But you do, you do"

An unread text from you lights up the screen

"I can't live without you"

A reenactment of the accident is performed

"The highway don't care"

A cause is soon found

"The highway don't care"

The trauma team works to save my life

"The highway don't care"

My parents wait for any news

"The highway don't care"

Hours pass

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"

But no news yet

"But you do, you do"

The police soon determine a cause of the accident

"The highway don't care"

Texting while driving

"The highway don't care"

Finally, the surgeon emerges

"The highway don't care"

Bearing news of whether I have lived or died

"The highway don't care"

My parents jump up

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, oh baby"

Hoping for good news

"But you do, you do"

The surgeon tells my parents the news

"I can't live without you, I can't live without you, baby"

I survived

Some stats: While this person may have survived, not everyone will. Everyday, 8 people die due to distracted driving/drivers. Texting while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year world wide. Nearly 390,000 injured occur each year from people texting while driving. 1 out of every 4 accidents in the U.S. are caused by this. You are also 6× more likely to cause a crash than a drunk driver. By answering that one text, you are spending 5 seconds away from the road. At 55 MPH (about 89 KPH), that's enough time to cover an American football field with your eyes closed while driving on it. In 2019 in the U.S., an estimated 3,100 were killed in accidents related to distracted driving and an estimated 400,000 were injured in 2018.

PLEASE PUT YOUR PHONE DOWN!!!!! A text can wait! If it's urgent, pull over when you can. Your life or someone else's is on the line if you respond while on the road. Please don't text and drive.

https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving

https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html#:~:text=The%20National%20Safety%20Council%20reports,caused%20by%20texting%20and%20driving