Erica Forney was riding her bike home from school when the 9-year-old Fort Collins girl was killed by a driver reportedly distracted by a cellphone conversation.
It’s the kind of accident that should not happen, for all sorts of reasons.
Now, several government officials and bike safety advocates want to reopen public discussions about banning texting and handheld cellphone use while driving.
It’s an idea worth a careful look.
Driving is one of the most dangerous things that we do on a regular basis. It requires good vision, excellent reactions, full attention and a good bit of patience.
Think of your own driving experience: How many times have you seen someone driving erratically and then noticed that person was talking on a cellphone? Or driving incredibly slow, only to see the driver texting — typing a message to someone on their phone — as they putter down the road?
Unfortunately, it’s not unusual.
It’s true that many things can distract drivers, including unwrapping a fast food burger, squabbling children in the backseat or even fiddling with a CD player.
But generally speaking, those sorts of activities make for fleeting interruptions. The same usually isn’t the case with cellphone use. People tend to stay on the phone for minutes, extending the amount of time they’re distracted.
Unfortunately, data and studies on the effects of cellphone use while driving are all over the map.
Some say drivers on cellphones are significantly more likely to be in an accident. Others say there is no decline in accidents when handheld cellphones are banned. Others make a case for hands-free versus a handheld unit.
While there is no general agreement among studies, polls show that a significant number of drivers support restrictions on driver cellphone use.
Many states have already done so. Some have banned handheld cellphones while driving, more have outlawed texting while driving and nearly 20 ban novice drivers from all cellphone use, including Colorado. Here, it is illegal for instructional permit holders to talk on a cellphone while driving.
Previous efforts to ban handheld cellphone use while driving failed in the Colorado legislature. Now, the case of Erica Forney has reinvigorated the debate.
The elementary school student was riding in a bike lane when she was struck. She suffered head injuries in the crash and died on Thanksgiving. Her heart-wrenching death is one of the more recent tragedies involving cellphone use while driving, but it is far from an isolated incident.
Some type of restrictions might be in order. We look forward to seeing the shape and details of proposed legislation that would attempt to make the roads safer for everyone.
