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Responsible Phone Use Saves Lives

Monday, November 30 2009

Fort Collins Coloradoan
November 30th, 2009

The recent Soapbox by Joseph Champ on the dangers of texting while driving is indeed timely.

In the last legislative session, I was the Senate sponsor of House Bill 09-1094 with Rep. Claire Levy.

The measure bans any handheld cell phone and texting while driving for drivers 18 years and younger and bans texting while driving for those of us 18 and older.

Mr. Champ makes convincing arguments for the dangers of this common form of distracted driving.

His experiences are similar to many who testified for the bill.

Shelly Forney's testimony was most compelling as she told of the death of her daughter, Erika, as a result of distracted driving while holding a cell phone in Fort Collins nearly a year ago.

Mr. Champ is on the mark when he reminds us that it is unacceptable for "people in control of tons of rolling metal and who, instead of watching the road, are reading and thumbing messages on small handheld devices."

He asks if we "reject this idea as another frivolous law, think about what can happen to your body in a car accident. Better yet, think about what happens to the body of someone you really, really love."

As the effective date of the legislation is Tuesday, we all need to consider the serious effects of handheld devices while driving; let's not use them ourselves and encourage others not to use them as well.

Our and others' lives may depend on our responsible choices.

Senator Bob Bacon
Fort Collins