Texting Teen Mows Down Deliveryman, Leaving Him Brain Dead

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Posted on 21st September 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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What does it take for people to get the message that they shouldn’t be texting while driving? Apparently, hitting someone and leavng them brain dead.

On Sunday night a 19-year-old girl in Brooklyn was texting while driving when she struck a Chinese restaurant deliveryman on a scooter, according to reports in several New York City papers.

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/texting_teen_slams_into_deliveryman_rKF4KCKkrvIWB64L9AUQyJ

Tian Sheng Lin, 53, was in critical condition with severe head trauma after being hit by a Toyota Camry driven by Nechama Rothberger. A story in the New York Post said that Lin had been declared brain dead at Kings County Hospital.

Rothberger was arrested, and charged with a misdemeanor, reckless driving, and issued a violation for driving while using a cellphone. Police at the accident scene had found her mobile phone with a partial message written on it.  

 http://www.nydailynews.com/ny_local/2010/09/20/2010-09-20_texting_brooklyn_teen_driver_hits_critically_injures_chinese_deliveryman.html

Lin, who has three children, worked for the Best China Restaurant, which is located only a few blocks from where the accident took place.

Rothberger’s lawyer told reporters that Rothberger had not struck Lin on purpose, that it was all an accident.

Yes, an accident by someone who was reckless and stupid enough to be texting while driving. I’m sure that Lin’s family will be comforted by the lawyer’s explanation.

Six More States Ban Texting While Driving Effective July 1

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Posted on 1st July 2010 by gjohnson in Uncategorized

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Today, July 1, bans on texting-while-driving went into effect in six states, adding to the 18 others that already prohibit motorists from using their cellphones to send messages.

http://www.landlinemag.com/todays_news/Daily/2010/June10/062810/063010-03.htm

Michigan, Georgia, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska and Wyoming will start enforcing their new laws today. And a number of other states will have their anti-texting bans go into effect before the year ends, namely Kentucky, Louisiana, Wisconsin and Connecticut.

With so many laws against texting debuting today, the national and local media have done a lot of coverage on the new laws, their penalties and the whole issue of whether such bans really work. Every media outlet from NPR on the radio to Landline, the business magazine for professional truckers, to the Detroit Free Press did pieces on the new anti-texting legislation.  

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128220944

NPR cited statistics from the U.S. Department of Transportation that said that in 2008 roughly 6,000 people died in accidents connected to distracted driving, and some 500,000 were hurt. 

The NPR report, interviewing Georgia State Police, focused on the difficultyof enforcing the texting bans. In other words, how do you know that someone is texting?

The texting bans that went into effect today vary from state to state, in terms of who they cover and their penalties.

For example, in Georgia the texting ban applies to all drivers, while in Iowa it also bans drivers under 18 from using a cellphone while beind the wheel. 

The fines for violating the texting bans vary widely, from $30 in Iowa to $200 in the Cornhusker State.

The Detroit Free Press warned drivers in the Motor City that they could be fined $100 initially, then $200, if they are caught texting-while-driving from now on.  

 http://www.freep.com/article/20100701/NEWS05/100701012/1320/Texting-while-driving-could-cost-100-now