Police chiefs aim to ban texting while driving
Sometimes, a danger enters the public consciousness the hard way.
That certainly seems to be the case with text messaging while driving in the aftermath of the hit-and-run death of 13-year-old Friedman Middle School student Earman Machado.
Suspect Craig P. Bigos Jr.'s statement to police that he was texting on his cell phone when he lost of control of his vehicle set off a media firestorm and talk on Beacon Hill of legislation banning the potentially deadly combination.
When Assistant District Attorney Aaron Strojny mentioned Bigos' account at his arraignment on Dec. 28, there was a palpable sense of shock in the courtroom.
But perhaps the truly shocking fact is that texting while driving is not at all uncommon, especially among young people, AAA of Southern New England Director of Government Affairs Art Kinsman said.
Kinsman said AAA and "Seventeen" magazine conducted a survey of 1,000 16 and 17 year olds in April 2007. Sixty-one percent of respondents admitted to unsafe driving behavior, including such things as speeding and showing off for friends.
Of those, 41 percent admitted to text messaging while driving, Kinsman said.
Taunton Police Chief Ray O'Berg cautioned against accepting Bigos' story at face value, though.
Bigos, who turned himself in the day after the accident, told police he didn't stop because he thought he'd hit a mailbox. The accident occurred on Poole Street a little after midnight on Dec. 27. Machado, who was sleeping over a friend's house, was riding his bicycle along the side of the road with a friend who was on foot en route to visit two girls, Strojny said.
O'Berg said police are investigating Bigos' version of events, looking at his phone records and where he was prior to the accident, including whether he had consumed any alcohol that night.
O'Berg declined to comment on this case in particular but said in the past suspects have fled accident scenes to buy time to sober up and avoid OUI charges.
He pointed to the Route 44 fatality that claimed the life of Jennifer M. Walker, 25, on March 9, 2007. Police found empty beer bottles in the suspect's vehicle, but he walked away from the scene before a field sobriety test could be performed. Months later, police located a witness who said she'd seen him drinking that night and upped the charges.
Whatever the truth turns out to be in the Bigos case, texting while driving is a recipe for disaster and should be banned, O'Berg said.
Lakeville Police Chief Mark Sorel said he'd like to see a law requiring "hands-free at a minimum and no texting."
Every time he turns the corner, it seems, there's someone driving distractedly while talking on a cell phone, he said. He's even seen people juggle food and a phone while driving with an elbow.
"I'd love to turn around and go get them, but there's nothing I can do," Sorel said.
He recalled a one-car fatality a few years ago on Route 18 in which police believe the driver was fumbling with his cell phone when he lost control. And texting is that much worse.
"Your mind, your eyes and at least one hand is focusing on texting," he said.
Sorel said he believes such a ban would be enforcible. Talking on a hand-held cell phone is highly visible and texting can lead to a lot of weaving and looking down, Sorel said.
Raynham Police Chief Lou Pacheco said he'd love to see a law against texting and hand-held cell phone use in general but thinks it would be hard to enforce. He said it might come down to subpoenaing phone records, a cumbersome process.
But even without such a law, drivers are responsible for staying in control of their vehicles, he said. That requires good judgment, whatever the circumstances. Pacheco recalled a fatal accident in town years ago in which a man turned around to deal with his pet rabbit, which had gotten loose in the backseat. The driver lost control, hitting two people head-on, killing them both.
Massachusetts law currently permits drivers to use cell phones as long as one hand remains on the steering wheel at all times.
While some states lump cell phone use in with distracted driving laws, five states, California, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Washington, and the District of Columbia specifically ban hand-held cell phone use. Only Washington and New Jersey explicitly ban text messaging.
According to Ann Dufresne, communication director for the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, the registry has not taken a stand on the issue. She said the department reserves the right to review each bill in the House and Senate dealing with the problem.
"We are committed to dealing with the pitfalls of distracted driving," said Dufresne.
Taunton Call