Bud Kennedy of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram doesn't seem to think that distracted driving is big deal. Thanks, Bud. That's what we want Tarrant County's biggest newspaper preaching to the young generation of new drivers: don't worry about texting while driving: it's no big deal; you'll only kill yourself, maybe a couple of other innocent motorists or pedestrians... Really? As someone who has defended the rights of average Texans whose lives have been turned upside-down in car wrecks for the past 20 years I think his column is utterly irresponsible to the point of ludicrous.
It's true that his comments are intended to target the hypocritical state legislators who vote in favor of one public safety bill but oppose another, but the way he causally disregards the very real danger of reading a text message while simultaneously operating a speeding vehicle is simply not acceptable. Let me ask you, Bud: Did you know that if you were driving at 55 mph you could travel the entire length of a football field - including the end zones - without looking at the road? No big deal, right? Have you ever met the parents of a child who died in a single vehicle wreck because she was checking her Twitter feed? It's just one dead kid, right? No biggie.
Bud, let me make this easy for you... Since you obviously fail to understand the true size of this monster problem, here are some actual facts published by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration from 2009 (the most recent data available):
100,000 distracted driving accidents were reported in Texas
408 of those were fatal
3,308 of the total distracted driving wrecks were attributed to a driver using a cellphone while behind the wheel (there is no clarification as to whether they were texting, reading, talking, surfing the web or emailing)
By all means, Bud, make humorous comments at the expense of politicians who say one thing but do another, but please don't make your point at the expense of Texas families who've lost a loved one. Using a cellphone while driving is extremely dangerous both to yourself and to all other road users. Indulging in anything which takes your attention of the road puts your life and others at risk. It is not a laughing matter. You should know better and you should be setting a far better example.
