Last week I wrote a post about Robert Okerblom's current cross-country bicycle tour to draw attention to the hazards of texting and driving.
His grief spurred him to action after his son was killed while riding a bicycle by a texting driver in California in 2009.
The tragedy is getting a lot of attention. Today I learned that the story of 19-year-old Eric Okerblom has been posted on “Faces of Distracted Driving,” a US Department of Transportation website designed to show the cost in human lives and suffering.
In the video, embedded here, Robert and his wife Eileen share photos of their son and talk about how he'll be missed. Robert concludes:
“I think we have to create a culture where driving and using a handheld device is not acceptable.”
This is the same message being pushed by US Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, who launched an effort to reduce the use of cellphones and other distractions by motorists to make the roads safer.
Thanks to Robert and Eileen for continuing to call attention to this major problem. Even in states that outlaw texting — such as California and Washington state — I often see people looking down to punch their cellphone.
You can follow Okerblom's cross-country progress at the EOFoundation blog.
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