Wrongful Death of Teen Drivers

A week ago I penned a blog entry about texting and driving.  We see it all the time in our practice causing all kinds of serious personal injuries to our clients.  I wrote that teens seem to be more aware about the dangers of drunk driving accidents and are using good judgment in using cabs or designated drivers.  I also talked about the dangers texting and how it causes the driver to have the same attentive cognition as a drunk driver.  Unfortunately my worries were confirmed by a study released by the Governors Highway Safety Association.  Apparently in the first half of 2012 traffic deaths among drivers ages 16 and 17 increased sharply in Indiana.  The statistic is frightening, in January 2011 we lost 3 souls, in 2012 we lost 16 children of Hoosier families.  The report  places blame at the altar of the distracted driver.  This includes texting drivers.  We can’t blame this increase on texting alone, but it is a significant contributing factor.  Think about it, we take an inexperienced driver operating a 2000 pound torpedo and then we mix in a cell phone for texting.  It is a recipe for disaster. 

The government is doing what it can to address this health issue, but as I stated before, we cannot rely on the government to fully address this problem.  Parents, talk to your children.  Show them these statistics.  Teachers, talk to your students, show them these statistics. In order to reduce or eliminate these problems, it will take a village to educate our children. 

Let it start with me and the example I set.  I pledge not to text and drive.  I pledge to speak with my children.