The man accused this week of killing a 13-year-old bicyclist in a hit-and-run collision in Massachusetts was typing a text message on his cellphone when he lost control of his SUV.
Prosecutors say the 31-year-old man thought he had struck a mailbox in the 12:30 a.m. collision. The boy, Earman Machado, was riding at the edge of the road while his friend walked on the soft shoulder.
The frequency of such accidents have prompted legislatures in New Jersey and Washington to prohibit text-messaginig while driving as of next year. It's amazing that people need laws to prohibit them from doing something so obviously distracting as text-messaging while behind the wheel. California also enacted cellphone laws effective in 2008.
Massachusetts fatality
The man in the Taunton fatality is charged with motor vehicle homicide, leaving the scene of an accident resulting in death, and driving without a license, according to the Boston Herald.
He told police that he didn't realize he had struck the boy until he drove past the accident scene the next morning. He turned himself in that afternoon.
Police said the car swerved two feet off the road when it struck the boy, throwing him some 60 feet, the Taunton Daily Gazette reported.
New cellphone laws
Some laws limiting cellphone use that go into effect in 2008:
California: Beginning in July, it illegal to use a wireless telephone while driving, unless that phone is designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking operation and is used in that manner. Also, a law makes it illegal for a minor to use a wireless telephone (even if it’s hands-free) or other mobile service device (any device used to communicate electronically), while operating a vehicle.
New Jersey: Text messaging is prohibited as of March 1, 2008.
Washington: Effective Jan. 1, 2008, drivers may not send, read or write a text message while driving. Effective July 1, 2008, hands free cell phone devices are required while operating a vehicle. (Both are secondary infractions, meaning police need to pull the motorist over for another infraction.)
Other states
According to a database at the Governor's Highway Safety Association:
— Five states and the District of Columbia have jurisdiction-wide laws prohibiting handheld cellphone use while driving;
— 17 states and DC have special restrictions regarding novice motorists;
— 14 states and DC have laws prohibiting cellphone use by bus drivers when carrying passengers;
— 2 states, New Hampshire and Utah, count cellphone users as distracted drivers.
Gwadzilla chimes in on the issue with “Texting Kills.”
Recent Comments