Saving a few seconds not worth losing a human life

Opinion

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January 30, 2010

Anonymous The News Courier Sat Jan 30, 2010, 05:04 PM CST

A Decatur woman on her way to work at Limestone Correctional Facility was killed early Thursday morning when her car was struck at U.S. 72 and Mooresville Road.

Edna Taylor Barker Harris, 59, died at the scene.

A State Trooper spokesman said Mrs. Harris’ Acura was struck by a 350 Chevrolet truck whose driver, Feliciano Diaz-Perez, 23, of Lilburn, Ga., allegedly ran a red light.

The spokesman, Trooper Curtis Summerville, said authorities also were investigating the possibility that Diaz-Perez was texting when the accident occurred.

Mrs. Harris’ death is a tragedy in the local community.

It will be even more tragic if authorities discover it was caused by such negligence.

This incident illustrates why legislation being considered in Alabama is needed. House Bill 35, which would ban texting while driving, passed the House of Representatives last week. It will now go before the Senate.

An Associated Press poll released Friday showed 77 percent of senators polled said they would support the bill, while 10 percent were opposed and 13 percent undecided.

The bill stipulates a driver would be fined $25 for the first conviction for texting while driving, $50 for a second conviction and $75 for each subsequent violation. The bill also requires the driver to pay court costs if convicted, cause one point to be charged to the record of the driver, which likely would cause the driver‘s insurance to increase.

A similar bill passed the House last year, but died in the Senate.

Also this week, The U.S. Department of Transportation prohibited commercial drivers of large trucks and buses from texting while driving.

Recently, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle was quoted as saying he supports a ban on Huntsville employees texting while driving.

Athens Mayor Dan Williams said enforcing a texting ban is difficult unless all phone use is banned because a driver could claim he was dialing a number to place a call rather than texting.

“You see people everywhere using phones while driving,” he said. “It’s almost like if you ban one thing, you have to ban all of it.”

Williams said while he does not feel the City Council is ready to ban phone use in city vehicles, he believes the tragedy is an opportunity to stress safety.

“Texting while you’re driving is not a wise thing to do,” he said. “I think it’s a good time to reiterate safety with telephones and automobiles. There’s a possibility someone lost her life because somebody was fooling with a telephone.”

Limestone County Commission Chairman David Seibert said he also plans to talk with employees at the county’s next safety meeting about the dangers of texting while driving.

This is a time for all of us to remember to use common sense while driving. Not to do so could have tragic results.

Imagine how Mrs. Harris’ family is feeling this week.

Imagine the guilt a young man would carry if convicted of causing her death.

Loss of a life is not worth saving a few seconds’ time.

Talk to your teen drivers about the consequences of what they may think is a harmless activity.

Place greater limits on yourself if you are in the habit of texting while driving.

Do it today.

Text Only

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