On average, nine Americans will be killed today in a motor vehicle accident that involves a distracted driver.
Consider this, the behavior of texting while driving has been said to be as dangerous as drinking and driving and 33% of U.S. drivers admitted to reading or writing text messages while driving in the previous month. That’s like driving around with 33% of the other drivers drunk.
Goldberg & Osborne, an Arizona personal injury law firm, represents clients who have seen first-hand the devastation that results from someone who thought they were immune to the dangers of driving while texting. Attorney Allen Bucknell was referring to his case, in which a husband was killed when the driver of a tractor-trailer glanced down at a text from his employer, when he said, “It’s not enough to have laws on the books banning phone use while driving. That helps the lawyers after the accident to punish the people who committed the crime, but it doesn’t stop someone from deciding to glance at their phone.”
Although 46 States (including California) have bans on texting while driving, the Los Angeles Times has reported, California’s auto accident trends before and after the state’s landmark cellphone law took effect, mirror those of states such as Arizona, which does not have a ban on phone use while driving. Allen Bucknell goes on to explain, “In order to change the behavior of texting while driving, people have to accept the personal responsibility and make a premeditated decision that they won’t text and drive.”
To help foster this idea of self-responsibility and to bring attention to this growing problem, Goldberg & Osborne is asking every driver to take the Goldberg & Osborne Don’t Text and Drive pledge, and in return, they will be entered into a drawing to win a $1,000 college scholarship. Just like deciding ahead of time to designate a sober driver for those who drink, deciding ahead of time not to text and drive will save lives.
To take the pledge and enter the drawing for a scholarship, go to our Don’t Text and Drive scholarship page. The qualification period starts February 1, 2016, through March 31, 2016, and is open to anyone for use at any college or institution of higher learning that accepts third-party scholarships.