WASHINGTON-Colorado authorities last week were expected to limit charges to a misdemeanor against a teenage driver who investigators said was text messaging on his cell phone when he crossed over into a bicycle lane, where his car struck a cyclist who later died.
In addition to national media attention given to the accident, the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office is receiving angry e-mails from around the country about the likelihood the 17-year-old-whose name was not disclosed because he is a minor-could face a relatively light sentence for the death of 63-year-old Jim R. Price.
If the district attorney brings misdemeanor charges, the teen could face punishment ranging from 10 days in jail and a $100 fine to a maximum one-year prison term and a $1,000 fine. A charge of criminal negligent homicide, on the other hand, can carry a three-year jail term and a $100,000 fine.
“It’s clearly a tragedy, no doubt about it,” said Lt. Alan Stanton, spokesman for the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office. “Anything that you do that takes your attention off the road, you should not be doing.” But, noted Stanton, the district attorney must proceed according to the law, not public opinion.
New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and the District of Columbia ban the use of cell phones by drivers, while permitting hands-free gadgets to carry on phone conversations. Other states are entertaining legislation to take cell phones out of the hands of drivers. Meantime, there is a growing movement to prohibit teen drivers from engaging in any wireless communication-handheld or hands-free-when behind the wheel.
The Governors Highway Safety Association said Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Tennessee and Texas, as well as the District of Columbia, restrict the use of cellular phones by teens in graduated licensing systems.
Distracted driving has been identified a serious problem by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board, but finding a meaningful solution has proven complicated and elusive. State driving and dialing restrictions are viewed as ineffective-and possibly even counter productive-because studies show hands-free devices do not improve driver attentiveness and enforcement of bans is difficult for police otherwise occupied with many other responsibilities. Moreover, many states do not have laws to collect data on cell-phone use at accident scenes.
Cingular Wireless L.L.C. and other wireless carriers-individually and through the CTIA trade group-promote safe driving, but the federal government has not matched their efforts.
In addition to charges brought by local prosecutors, fatal accidents in which driver cell-phone use has been implicated have prompted civil lawsuits in recent years.
