On Sept. 15, 2009, my father didn’t make it home from Hudson’s Bay High School.
His life ended abruptly by one of his former students.
At the time I had never heard of texting and driving. I will never forget having to travel to Olympia and testifying to our Legislature about what at the time was a relatively new trend. What is this? How will it affect our state? Reality: The time it takes to text “Hello,” snap a photo, or check a map while traveling at 25 mph is more than enough time to travel through an 8-foot crosswalk without noticing.
My thanks to the efforts of Sen. Ann Rivers, Rep. Sharon Wylie and our local representatives for expanding the prohibitions on device use while operating a motor vehicle. I sincerely hope and pray that other families don’t experience the pain of :'( like mine has.
Best wishes to our local and state law enforcement as you patrol our streets for distracted drivers and dole out the :(.