August 8, 2006
Mobile phone blamed for fatal road accident. Again
The Guardian reports on yet another tragic accident caused by a driver using his cell phone while at the wheel.
"A UK truck river was sented to four years in jail yesterday, for causing a woman's death because he was distracted by his mobile phone.
John Payne, 31, had been punching the keypad of his new phone and failed to spot a traffic queue ahead. His lorry crashed into a Peugeot 106 driven by Trinity Taylor, 23, rolling over the top of the car crushing it, and killing the woman inside.
Outside Winchester crown court, after Payne was sentenced, Ms Taylor's family said motorists caught using mobiles should face as much stigma as drink-drivers."
In a related article, News Times Live reports that US studies have shown up to 1,000 fatal accidents a year nationwide may be caused by distracted drivers using cell phones in cars.
A number of states investigated whether cell phones play a role in crashes, and in 2005 California ruled 611 of its nearly half-million crashes involved cell phone use."
Other incidents reported from around the world.
The Permanent Link to this page is: http://www.textually.org/textually/archives/2006/08/013154.htm
| Tweet |
