Motor Vehicle Fatalities1994-1998 –185,4201999-2003 –189,4962004-2008 –187,796Source: National Highway Traffic Safety AdministrationFacebook: Teen Voices @ TFP
By Kristen Camp
Valley Voices Staff Writer
For Ashley Murray, sending a simple text almost took her life.
“I could have died, killed someone or lost my arm completely, all because I had to send a text message,” said Miss Murray, 24, a second-year student at Chattanooga State Community College.
The night of Oct. 6, 2007, was traumatic for the unsuspecting young driver.
“I was leaving a friend’s house and thought, ‘I’m almost home, I’ll just send this text,’ ” Miss Murray said. “The next thing I knew I was flying through the air.”
Miss Murray flipped her truck twice, landed upside down in the median and became trapped between the steering wheel and roof.
First responders had to cut Miss Murray out of her vehicle.
She spent the week following her accident in the hospital, undergoing three surgeries.
“The doctors told my parents I’d never be able to use my arm again. They thought they would have to cut it off just above the elbow.”
According to keepthedrive.com, an Allstate website, motor vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death among teens, outranking drugs, alcohol, violence and suicide. As texting becomes more popular, texting while driving is expected to add to those numbers.
As a result, and to help prevent accidents like Miss Murray’s, the state of Tennessee and 18 other states have passed laws designed to stop texting while driving, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. The law states that if a driver fails to devote full attention to the operation of a motor vehicle, a police officer has the authority to cite the driver for operating it in an unsafe manner.
This includes talking on a cell phone or sending a cell phone text message.
The problem with this newly implemented law is the challenge police officers face in trying to enforce it, according to Steven York, 13-year Chattanooga Police Department traffic investigator.
“It’s my word against theirs in court,” Officer York said.
He added that it is difficult to see a driver texting since it can be done quickly and concealed easily. Yet those few seconds could be disastrous.
An estimated 1.6 million teens drive while reading or writing text messages, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Miss Murray believes laws against cell phone use and texting while driving will save lives.
“Driving takes your full attention, and if you are texting, you are not devoting your full attention to driving,” she said.
Miss Murray has recovered full use of her arm, and she has not texted while driving since the accident.
“I was like every other teenager. I thought I was invincible,” she said. “Nothing could hurt me. That one night changed my life forever though, and I didn’t even get to send that text message.”
Kristen Camp is a student at Red Bank High School.