Being a personal injury attorney, working on Washington wrongful death cases and severe Seattle car accidents, I decided to take a stand against texting while driving and started “Teens Against Distracted Driving” nearly 2 years ago. I have been speaking with schools and other groups since TADD began, but in spite of my efforts and the legal efforts making texting while driving illegal it still remains a big problem.
Texting while driving is thought to be the cause of another fatal Washington auto accident. Around 5:20 p.m. Friday, February 18th Ashley Davis-Jones a 22-year-old from Tumwater was driving east on U.S. Highway 12 near Rochester when she crossed the center line and struck a truck. Davis-Jones was driving a Mazda 3 Freightliner Box Truck when she crashed into The semi driver was uninjured in the accident, but the young woman died in the collision.
According to the Washington State Patrol it is unknown weather alcohol or drugs were a factor in the accident, but an open cell phone was found on the floor of the Mazda and police have determined texting while driving to be the cause of the crash.
It actually appears since the texting while driving laws were pushed through the legislature, texting while driving incidents have actually increased and the fatalities are quickly adding up. What many fail to realize is that reading or sending a text message takes the drivers eyes off the road for an average of 4.6 seconds- making it more dangerous than drinking and driving. When driving at freeway speeds 4.6 seconds is the length of a football field, and in that span of time your car can drift into oncoming traffic, rear-end a car in front of you or send your vehicle flying off a cliff. The only way to protect yourself from one of these fatal texting while driving accidents is by putting the cell phone down. Take the texting while driving pledge through Teens Against Distracted Driving. No matter your age we will send you a TADD bracelet just for signing the pledge.