British Teenager Imprisoned for Four Year Due to Text-Related Death

[Christinak]

We all know that talking on the phone or text messaging (or reading one) behind the wheel isn’t the safest behaviors to be practicing, but admit it--we’ve all been guilty of doing it one time in our lives. We all think that it’s not so big of a deal, right? Well, here this:

A British teenager named Rachel Begg was reportedly using her cellular phone nine times during a 15 minute drive before crashing into an elderly grandmother’s vehicle and subsequently killing her. And what didn’t help her case at all, was the fact that Begg was driving nearly 70 miles per hour on a dark, rainy night. Putting herself and others lives in danger, the judge repeatedly stressed how costly Begg’s lack of reason was. Begg was found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison.

So tell me know, is it still not so big of a deal? Texting while driving is definitely not worth four years of your life behind bars. An extremely sad story, all it takes is a story like this to have us reevaluate our behaviors, especially those done behind the wheel. So next time you receive a text message while driving, think of this story and make the right decision.

Better leave the texting after the ride’s over, don’t you think?

[via Engadget Mobile]

[yankeejeep]

Actually no, we haven't all done something so obviously and patently idiotic. It displays so little awareness of how one's action can impact anyone else that it approaches being sociopathic. I'm sorry folks but if you honestly think you can drive and text, you don't deserve to have a license. It is roughly the same as walking down the street with a pistol firing off random, unaimed shots. If you are so oblivious that you do text behind the wheel - Wake up, Stupid!!! Will it take killing somebody to get you to have a brain? There are five families in New York who are mourning their daughters who would like to have a word with - all impacted by one sad accident and a driver's phone with a text conversation going on seconds before meeting a semi headed-on. Get a clue.

[tack9204]

Christinak - I read your entry without clear understanding of whether you support the finding or not. If you don't support the actions of the driver I appologise for the misunderstanding, however if you believe that the punishment was too severe even after considering the facts you have provided I find it very perplexing that such idiotic and blatent disregard for the consideration of potential outcomes of ones actions still exists in a world that claims to be so well informed.

As a person responsible for picking people up off the road after imbecilic morons take to the wheel of the greatest killing machine we all seem to take as a right in our every day lives, I deal with the daily occurrence of "potential" outcomes from these actions that people don't seem to believe could ever occur to them.

People wake up and smell what you are trying to pass off as a justifyable reason for taking yours, and every other person on the road in your path, by thinking it is so bloody important to send a text message, or using a hand held phone, whilst driving at ANY speed. So many people believe that they are such great drivers they should never be corrected for such a "not so big of a deal" by a simple ticket. Consider what the penalty is for the day that you take that extra half a second to look back at the road and kill somebody else's loved one that was doing nothing wrong.

yankeejeep - I find it refreshing that there are people out there who do take such things seriously and are willing to stand up and make their beliefs known.

Anybody out there that thinks this is too heavy of a penalty, I prey that you have the sense to realise one day that you are not as good as you think you are and WAKE UP. By the way I will admit I am noweher near perfect in any way, however driving a motor vehicle is the most dangerous act most of us will ever perform. Lets get it right.

After the first fatal car crash the Coroner said, "I hope such a tragedy will never happen again." Since then over 30 million people have been killed by cars. Our children learn by observing what we do. My phone has a cradle and I am laughed at for my bluetooth headsets, but I will never be reposible for the death of another from a lapse of concentration looking at my phone, will you? This person deserved what they got on the facts above.