On this day every year, we pause to remember a horrific loss and tragedy. So I thought it appropriate to print the letter of a reader whose life will be forever touched by a different, yet no less significant, loss. She writes:
I just read your article, "I changed my mind: Talking on a cell phone is not OK."
Some of the people you mentioned who were killed by people talking on cell phones while driving were Karyn Nicole "Nikki" Cordell and her unborn son, Dartagnan Rowe. I happen to have many blessed memories of Nikki Cordell. She grew up across the street from me, and as time went by, she became as close to me as my own daughter. She was a wonderful and caring person and a loving mother to the daughter she left behind. When I heard her life was taken away so quickly by something that could and should have been prevented, it rocked me to the core.
I, too, answered my phone or made a quick call when driving – also thinking "I can handle it." Now all I can think of when my phone rings in the car is that the person in front of me, beside me or behind me is worth more to someone than that phone call is worth to me. I have decided there is nothing so urgent that it cannot wait the 15 seconds it takes to pull over before I answer that call.
When my daughter, who is named after Nikki, came to me with tears in her eyes and asked, "Why did Nikki have to die?" I had no eloquent words of wisdom for her.
It's a shame that it took someone very close to me dying to alter my behavior. I hope and pray that people become aware of the dangers of answering their phone while driving and decide to stop before something like this happens to someone they love.
Thank you for your article.
- Tresa Spradley
Change in California is just a pen stroke away, Tresa. Senate Bill 1613 has passed the Assembly and Senate and is being sent to our governor's desk. If signed by Gov. Schwarzenegger, it will change the way Californians talk on cell phones while driving as of July 2008.
I know there are people out there who think it's their right to talk on a wireless phone while driving, and they're gearing up for a fight as they read this. If you are one of those people, relax. The bill is not an outright ban on talking on a cell phone while behind the wheel. It is really just a baby step in a direction that will make the roads a bit safer for us all.
If SB 1613 becomes law, all any driver will need to do is to hop over to their local electronics store and shell out a few bucks to make their device hands-free. Under the bill, hands-free talking and listening, as well as calling an emergency agency with an actual phone right next to your ear, is legal.
The only thing the bill is missing is some real teeth to deter offenders. A citation does not put a point on the offender's driving record, and the fine for a first-time offense is only $20. Every time someone gets caught chatting it up behind the wheel after their first citation, the fine is $50.
No matter how small a step this law might be, at least it's a stride in the right direction.
