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       Earlier this year, Luke Turner, a Tooele County resident, lost his son in a fatal accident due to distracted driving. His son, James was driving home one night and was t-boned by a vehicle from oncoming traffic. Luke expressed that he was devastated that someone put his son’s life at risk to send a text, “It was heartbreaking when we got the news. How could they be so careless?” Luke and his family were shattered when they got the news that James had not come home safe. Although they are still hurt by the loss of their son, they have decided to use this as a way to inform individuals of how dangerous this can really be. They hope that their story can help save the life of someone else’s son. 

       Distracted driving injures and kills thousands of Americans every year, and James was one of many young victims. Luke and his family are still grieving the loss of James, and urge drivers to get off their phones and pay attention to the road ahead.

       According to the Utah Department of Public Safety, in 2016 there were 5,748 crashes caused by distracted drivers. About 3,303 of these crashes resulted in the injury of one or more people, while 27 resulted in death. It has been proven that distracted driving not only puts yourself in danger, but also puts everyone else on the road in danger. With new technology, it can be hard to resist the urge to check the messages on your phone, but is it worth the risk?

       Many people think of distracted driving as simply texting and driving, but it equates to a lot more than that. According to the United States Department of Transportation, “Distracted driving is any activity that diverts attention from driving, including talking or texting on your phone, eating and drinking, talking to people in your vehicle, fiddling with the stereo, entertainment or navigation system — anything that takes your attention away from the task of safe driving.” Although texting is what causes the most accidents, there are plenty of cases of every kind of distracted driving. Many people justify their bad behavior on the road by “hand-free” or “voice to text”. Although these are alternatives for physically touching your phone to make a call or text someone, they can be equally as dangerous. The Utah Department of Public Safety noted that individuals talking on the phone while driving are only seeing 50% of their surroundings, as their brain is trying to focus on the conversation. 

       November 1, 2016 a 13 year-old boy by the name of Andrew Perry was hit by a distracted driver and passed away.  He was crossing the street, and as the car turned the corner, they hit Andrew causing his death. I personally went to school with him, and I saw how it affected students and teachers. It is events like these of James and Andrew that are unfortunate and would not have happened if people put their phones down and paid attention to their surroundings.

       We all know that most forms of distracted driving are illegal in the state of Utah, such as texting, accessing the internet, etc. However, under Utah Code Section 41-6a-1716, there are specific exceptions to this rule. These exceptions include, calling 911 or other medical emergency personnel, viewing navigation (GPS), and reporting any safety hazard or criminal activity. If an individual breaks these laws to prevent distracted driving, they could be fined or even put in jail. Siegfried & Jensen, an injury attorney law firm in Salt Lake City, states that “According to Utah’s laws, anyone who is caught texting while driving could possibly face up to three months in jail, as well as a fine of as much as $750 fine, as well as a misdemeanor on their record. If the driver has caused any injury or death, the penalty can increase to a felony, which could be accompanied by a $10,000 fine and a possible 15 years in prison.”. There are even bigger consequences for drivers with a CDL (Commercial Drivers License), such as a revocation of their special license. 

       These laws were put into place to protect yourself and those around you. Distracted driving of any sort is dangerous and takes the lives of thousands, including James and Andrew. There is no way to eliminate this issue entirely, however there are ways you can help prevent it, and it starts with you. The takeaway is simple, just don’t do it.