At the heart of the Bluffton Lutzie 43 5K is a plea for safer, less-distracted driving
In a world where time is everything and speed is rewarded, early birds at a Bluffton 5K asked people to slow down for 43 seconds.
It was an odd request for the veteran runner who took first. Or the Instagram-wielding dog, Colfax, who beat out a handful of other pups. Or for a fourth-grader with speed rivaling those decades older.
Winning wasn’t everything Saturday morning.
The Bluffton Lutzie 43 5K, which began at Oyster Factory Park, wound through historic old town area and along the May River, had meaning that went beyond feet on the ground. It was about hands on the wheel.
“Take 43 key seconds when you get in your car to have a clear head, clear hands, clear eyes and then put on your seat belt and be ready to drive,” said Bill Butler, Lutzie 43 Foundation director of operations, minutes before participants geared up.
The foundation, a group working to inform young people about the dangers of distracted driving, launched after former Auburn University football player Philip Lutzenkirchen died as a passenger in a distracted driving accident in 2014.
Lutzenkirchen wore jersey No. 43.
Saturday’s race also served as a fundraiser for the Bluffton Lutzie 43 Scholarship for area students graduating from high school or in college. The town became the first municipality in the nation to partner with the Lutzie 43 Foundation, a cause close to Mayor Lisa Sulka’s heart.
“We’ve lost too many kids,” Sulka said on the brisk Saturday morning.
She posed a question to the crowd: “What’s wrong with having a hands-free state?”
South Carolina isn’t a hands-free state, meaning drivers can pick up their phone while in motion. But bill S. 248, passed in late-February by the state Senate, could change that.
The 37-3 Senate vote came after South Carolina reported one of the most dangerous years for drivers in the past 15 years. In 2021, 1,118 people died in car accidents on South Carolina’s highways, according to previous reporting from The State.
If it becomes law, drivers would be banned from writing, sending or reading texts and emails. The legislation would also prohibit changing music, watching videos or pressing more than one button to pick up a call.
It’s a measure John Tolerton, who snagged first in Saturday’s 5K with a 17:24 time, supports.
“When you’re running and you’re looking at people on the road or on the shoulder and they’re looking down, it’s scary,” Tolerton said.
A distracted swerve could injure or kill those taking to the sidewalks — for humans and dogs alike.
Colfax, a 4-year-old Brittany spaniel with a generous Instagram following, could never conceptualize the way hands-free legislation could change his morning runs with owner Laura Newman.
But fewer people on the road with hands on their phones instead of the wheels means Newman wouldn’t have to worry about the safety of her and Colfax on his five-day-a-week runs.
Keatyn Hammel-Millard, 10, is too young to navigate the roads behind the wheel.
The lightning-fast 10-year-old, who recorded a 25:04 5K time, didn’t know the ins and outs of the Lutzie 43 Foundation. Driving is years away for the fourth-grader. But it doesn’t stop her from being pragmatic.
Keatyn has a short-term solution that might help: Hands-free devices.
This story was originally published April 2, 2022 at 2:17 PM.
