AUSTIN, Texas – Indy Lights driver Zach Veach made a special visit to Texas on Tuesday to support of Texas Department of Transportation’s (TXDOT) Distracted Driving Summit.

The 19-year-old, who leads the series point standings, started the day in pit lane at The Circuit of the Americas with local media and families of those affected by distracted driving accidents to share their stories of being affected by distracted driving. Veach was given the opportunity to tour the 3.4-mile permanent road course, even getting the chance to view the track from its iconic observation deck.

Veach spoke to the summit attendees about his story of losing classmate to a distracted driving accident. Veach also expressed that while driving at 180 mph as a race car driver, it’s imperative to be 100 percent focused, and that same focus should be used by drivers on the freeway even at just mph. 

In Texas alone in 2013, of the 94,943 traffic accidents that were caused by distracted driving, 459 of those were fatal, according to TXDOT. 

One in five accidents in Texas is caused by distracted driving – not limited to texting while driving or even talking on the phone albeit on a hands-free device. Changing the radio station, turning around in your seat to speak to passengers, cognitive distractions, in addition to phone usage are all means of distracted driving.