November 26th, 2005
Text Messenging While Driving Leads to Crash, Death
By Michael Santo
Contributing Writer, RealTechNews
In my opinion it’s bad enough to be talking on a cell phone (without a headset or hands-free kit) while driving, but to be text messaging?
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colo. - A 17-year-old likely will face misdemeanor charges after allegedly losing control of his car while text messaging and hitting a bicyclist.
The bicyclist, Jim R. Price of Highlands Ranch, died Friday, two days after the accident.
“The investigation showed that he was text-messaging on his cell phone” at the time of the accident, said Stanton.
The driver could face a charge of careless driving resulting in death, Stanton said. Under Colorado law, the teen could face up to a year in prison. Source: AP via Yahoo! News
We Say: The National Transportation Safety Board is already urging states to ban cell phones for teenage drivers. The State of New York has introduced a bill that would enforce a ban against drivers 19 and under, hands-free or otherwise. This is just going to add fuel to the fire, no matter how you may feel about this issue.
Honestly, there is no excuse for the actions of this driver. How anyone could possibly think they could drive effectively while text messaging is beyond me. I realize the driver will have to live with this for the rest of his life, but frankly, one year seems too lenient for killing someone.
Note: Here is a list of countries (U.S. states at the bottom) that ban cell phone use without a hands-free kit (last updated 10/3/2005).
Bruce Layne says:
A one year sentence, for such a stupid and reckless act that took a life? That’s way too lenient. How about a prison sentence of 5 years or the remaining life expectancy of the person who was killed (based on actuarial statistics), whichever is greater?
Americans consider driving to be a right instead of a priviledge. We have too little respect for the responsibility that should exist when operating a one ton steel vehicle at speeds up to 70 MPH.
November 27th, 2005 at 2:34 pm
HB says:
It’s unfortunate that a majority of people don’t understand that the act of talking (or typing) on a cell phone occupies too much of a person’s attention while driving - regardless of whether or not a handsfree device is used. Those who claim they can do it safely are deluded.
November 28th, 2005 at 5:40 am
Jimmy says:
Exactly right Bruce, I remember reading an article once, no link to it, sorry, that said when they invented the automobile, they expected less than 30% of people to be competent to drive one. I think that may be a little low, in my experience with other drivers, I’d say it’s closer to 50%.
Ofcourse, my memory could be off on that 30% number, but that was clsoe to the gist of it.
November 28th, 2005 at 7:33 am
Alice says:
I read that using a cell phone makes you drive like an 80 year old in terms of coordination and response. Imagine an 80 year old on a cell phone.
November 28th, 2005 at 1:58 pm
Jim Frost says:
Killing people with automobiles usually has very little penalty associated with it. We had a guy in MA a couple of years back who ran over a motorcyclist, killing him. He left the scene, drove home, and they later found him. Vehicular homicide and leaving the scene of an accident at a minimum … and he got a $250 fine and probation. (really)
Regarding “good” versus “bad” driver ratio: I used to think that most drivers around here (Boston) were really terrible. I was riding my bicycle to work every day and not a day would go by when I didn’t see a number of people doing absolutely stupid things. One day I decided to see what the ratio really was, so I started counting how many cars I saw and how many were clearly bad drivers.
It turned out that the ratio was very low, only 1-2%, a huge surprise. The problem is that on a typical day I’ll pass 300+ cars, meaning I will be in contact with as many as six horrible drivers. Those are the ones you remember, not the hundreds that pass by uneventfully.
November 28th, 2005 at 2:42 pm
Christine Murphy says:
I was at the scene of the accident (as 911 was called) with three of my children and a friend of theirs who was visiting for Thanksgiving. The images that we all saw - Mr. Price undergoing CPR, his bent bicycle laying near him while a single running shoe sat in the middle of the intersection will never leave my memory or theirs. My oldest son is driving on a temporary permit and my daughter and her friend are about to get their temporary permits. The boy who hit Mr. Price goes to my children’s high school. I know this has been a lesson for them like no other. For all of those kids who will thankfully never see something like this, I really feel that a law which is associated with more severe penalties, is what is required to ensure dedicated attention while driving - not only in the temporary permit phase (as it is currently in Co), but also into young adulthood (e.g. no cell phones under 5 years of driving experience). This is a tragedy for both the Price family and the young driver of the car. Hopefully eduction and new laws can prevent this from happening again.
November 29th, 2005 at 11:57 pm
» Did Text Messaging While Driving Play a Part in a Fatal Crash? » Blog Archive Alice Hill’s Real Tech News - Independent Tech says:
[…] We Say: Because there was more than one person in the car, there’s no way to say who was doing the text messaging. We’ve see this before, though, someone killed, though not the driver, because of an accident caused by text messaging while driving. As someone who is connected via email and a PDA phone to his office, I will admit that I have emailed while driving … I will also admit it’s not a smart thing to do, and it should be outlawed nationally, IMHO. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
July 15th, 2007 at 11:54 am
What Parents Ought to Know About Teens says:
[…] We Say: Because there was more than one person in the car, there’s no way to say who was doing the text messaging. We’ve see this before, though, someone killed, though not the driver, because of an accident caused by text messaging while driving. As someone who is connected via email and a PDA phone to his office, I will admit that I have emailed while driving … I will also admit it’s not a smart thing to do, and it should be outlawed nationally, IMHO. […]
July 17th, 2007 at 2:39 pm
Did Text Messaging While Driving Play a Part in a Fatal Crash? | Etixet Tag Cloud Archive 10.000 Web Site Feed says:
[…] Because there was more than one person in the car, there’s no way to say who was doing the text messaging. We’ve see this before, though, someone killed, though not the driver, because of an accident caused by text messaging while driving. As someone who is connected via email and a PDA phone to his office, I will admit that I have emailed while driving … I will also admit it’s not a smart thing to do, and it should be outlawed nationally, IMHO. Share and Enjoy:These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]
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