SANDY, UT -“Text messaging while driving is dangerous and life threatening to all of us.” This was the message Jamie Lynn Crandall, former Miss Utah USA, and the law firm of Driggs Bills & Day shared with students at Alta High School in an effort to encourage young people not to Text and Drive.
Statistics show that texting while driving can cause drivers to black out for five seconds at a time and is the equivalent of driving after having four beers or taking your eyes off the road to text while driving at 55 mph is like driving the length of a football field blindfolded. Distracted driving injures 330,000 people every year and car crashes kill an average of 11 teens every day.
According to Matt Driggs, an attorney with Utah Advocates, it’s against Utah law to send text messages or email while operating a motor vehicle. “If a texting related accident results in a death, the law makes it a felony criminal homicide. This is a very critical issue and something kids need to take very seriously,” he said.
Jamie Lynn Crandall, former Miss Utah USA, encouraged students to not text behind the wheel because a distracted driver killed a dear friend of hers. “My friend Lauren Mulkey was hit in an intersection with a green light because a driver was texting,” said Crandall. “She was killed and the other driver wasn’t even injured. Texting and driving can ruin lives everyday. Make a commitment to not text while driving and encourage your family and friends to do the same.”
Utah Advocates encouraged students to sign their online Text Free Pledge. “We hope young people will visit our Facebook page at Utah Advocates and sign the Text Free Pledge not to Text and Drive,” said Matt Driggs. “We want our kids to be safe when they drive and hope this campaign will have a significant impact.”
The Utah Advocates at Driggs, Bills and Day is a Utah personal injury law firm with offices in Salt Lake City, Ogden and Provo. The Advocates handle all types of accident case to get clients the results they deserve. The personal injury attorneys at Driggs, Bills and Day have recovered over $100 million dollars on behalf of their clients. The Advocates hold the highest distinction of AV from Martindale-Hubbell law rankings and were named as Legal Elite by Utah Business Magazine.
Thursday, Dec. 1, 2011
