The number one cause of teenage death in the United States is distracted or impaired driving – a frightening fact that Mike Lutzenkirchen is trying to change.
Mike Lutzenkirchen started the Lutzie 43 Foundation in memory of his son, Philip Lutzenkirchen, after he died in a car accident in 2014.
The Lutzie 43 Foundation works to empower and educate teenagers on the importance of making smart decisions while driving.
The 43 Key Seconds Initiative was created to provide a symbol to represent and remind people of the dangers of distracted or impaired driving.
“Back in March, we looked at the fact that there is no nationally recognized symbol for impaired or distracted driving,” Mike Lutzenkirchen said. “If you ask people to describe — off the top of their head — to describe safe driving symbols, there is a phone or a phone encased in a circle.”
Mike Lutzenkirchen explained how in October, people associate the month with the color pink and the ribbon symbol. He said he wants to do the same for distracted driving.
“We thought if we can get a physical key and we can get some celebrities behind it, get it some recognition, that it can become a nationally recognized symbol,” Mike Lutzenkirchen said.
A small decorative key with the number 43 inscribed on it is the symbol they chose as a reminder to take 43 seconds to clear your head and hands before driving.
“We call it the 43-second countdown,” Mike Lutzenkirchen said. “The countdown simply means you have a clear head and eyes and hands.”
Taking a brief moment before a drive to ensure you aren’t under the influence or distracted with a phone or emotions is an easy pause that could save lives, he said. The key represents the hopes of the foundation, and they hope it will help them reach more teenagers on a larger scale, and make a bigger impact.
“We will touch the lives of over 160,000 students, which we are very proud of, but it is simply not enough,” Mike Lutzenkirchen said. “The number one thing that is killing teens is distracted driving, and yet, we don’t have a symbol for it.”
The Lutzie 43 Foundation has high hopes for this initiative, and they are confident they can combat what Mike Lutzenkirchen describes as completely avoidable accidents and fatalities.
“The government puts the words ‘epidemic’ and ‘crisis’ on it, which I thought were pretty strong,” Mike Lutzenkirchen said. “But it’s the number one thing killing our teen’s age 16-19, and that’s what we hope to change.”
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