Monthly Archives: May 2010

Anti-texting and driving campaign at Eastlake High School

Eastlake High School in Sammamish, WAEastlake High School in Sammamish, WA

My name is Margot Smith and I am a TADD supporter. I have already started a campaign at my high school, Eastlake High School, in hopes of making an impact on my peers.

The distracted driving problem has been around forever, but has become an increasingly big problem for my generation due to intense cell phone and text messaging usage. This sparked my interest in putting a stop to this negative behavior.

The campaign will officially begin at Eastlake this Thursday, May 27. On this day I will be working with the Swerve Driving team to to stand outside my school’s entrance and tally the number of distracted drivers entering school. This will be useful data for the pamphlet/brochure I will be making for students, as well as for our school’s assembly next year. Along with this, I am working to put together a design for a window sticker students can display on the back of their cars. This is just the start to a wonderful campaign. I’ll post more about the campaign after the Drive Nice Day on Thursday. Wish me luck 🙂

TADD Founder Speaks to Youth Conference & Gets Over 100 Students to Pledge Against Distracted Driving

Jason Epstein, Seattle Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawyer and Founder of Straight Talk Law, recently spoke at the City of Bellevue’s Youth Leadership Conference where over 150 teens pledged to not text and drive. Watch the video of Jason's presentation.
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Washington drivers: no grace period offered for new cell phone ban

The Washington State Patrol announced today that there will be no grace period for drivers texting or talking while driving when failing to use a hands-free device becomes a primary traffic offense on June 10.

“We will fully enforce this law from day one,” WSP Chief John R. Batiste

While it’s common for state patrol to offer a period of time for drivers to break habits when new laws take effect, Batiste says drivers have had two years to adjust.

Laws prohibiting distracted driving behaviors actually took effect June 2008. The new law, though, makes distracted driving a primary offense, meaning law enforcement officers need to see no other infraction at hand in order to pull drivers over.

Since 2008, Washington State Patrol has issued 3,000 tickets and about 5,900 warnings regarding the cell phone ban. Drivers caught in the act risk a $124 fine.

Texting Car Accident Survivor Aaron Brookens Warns of the Texting Dangers | Teens Against Distracted Driving

Aaron Brookens thinks his texting while driving car accident was meant to happen. “It’s crazy,” he said. “I actually missed my exit for home, for some reason. I never miss that exit, ever. It’s the Avalon exit, and the accident happened right after the exit, so I can’t really explain that.”

Brookens was texting his girlfriend at the time of his car accident. He suffered some serious leg injuries and now wants to take his message of the dangers of texting while driving to schools whenever possible.

Learn more about Brookens' texting while driving car accident at Straight Talk Law.

Lora Hunt Found Guilty in Nail Painting Car Accident | Teens Against Distracted Driving

Last week, Lora Hunt was found guilty in a distracted driving car accident in which she tragically hit and killed motorcyclist Anita Zaffke. Lora was not texting, or eating while driving, she was painting her nails.

Learn more about the Lora Hunt distracted driving car accident at Straight Talk Law.