DeVoe Mooore

Your Turn

The recent tragedy at the Stoneman Douglas High School has directed our attention to the importance of ensuring the safety of our youngest generation. Immediately after this horrific event, both citizens and politicians have begun insisting that legislation be enacted to ensure that such heartbreak should never occur again. Since that time, the state of Florida has put into place several laws intended to make schools safer. Given the magnitude of this tragedy, it is not surprising that it has received both national and worldwide attention.

The attention afforded the Stoneman shootings has overshadowed another critical legislative issue that is just as deadly, if not more so to our youth, texting while driving. The Florida Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles Department has reported that there have been approximately 50,000 accidents caused by distracted driving of which 233 resulted in death. A recent article in the Sun Sentinel recognized Florida as the second worst state for distracted driving behind Louisiana. According to AAA, cell phone distraction caused nearly 60 percent of teen accidents and 21 percent fatalities in 2017.

The state of Florida has been wrestling with the texting issue for years. The State now appears closer to a remedy than when it was first discussed over a decade ago. Legislators intended to get tougher on texting and driving during this last session. A bill was introduced making texting and driving a primary offense. Currently, it is a secondary offense, meaning that drivers can receive tickets when pulled over for a separate violation such as speeding or no seat belt. The new bill, which would allow enforcement officers to immediately stop drivers who are texting, was not even heard in the Senate.

Because accidents associated with distracted driving continue to increase at alarming rates (four times more quickly than those undistracted), I am sure that the Legislature will re-examine this issue again during next year’s session.

How many years must we start over before those in power realize that distracted driving is one of the most significant dangers facing our young people today? Yes, guns kill when misused, but cell phones do as well when in the hands of distracted drivers.

We need to keep in mind that virtually all teen drivers have a cell phone at their disposal. The AAA reports that 94 percent of teens admit that texting and driving can lead to deadly consequences, yet 35 percent of those still indicate doing so on a regular basis. Perhaps if we can develop common sense approaches, we can reduce the percentage of teens (“admitting”) texting while driving to a number much lower than 35 percent. Until lawmakers change their current “head in the sand” approach, it is unlikely that we will see a reversal of the double-digit increases in teen deaths shown in each of the past five years.

The latest Florida Department of Transportation statistics available as of 2018, report 3,477 people died, and another 341,000 injured in motor vehicle crashes in 2015 caused by drivers who were distracted while they were texting or using their cell phone.

Accordingly, statistics show texting while driving has become one of the country’s top killers. According to Highway Safety Fatality Facts, there are 11 teen deaths every day without protests. Cars are not the killers; it's texting while driving. Guns are not the killers; it’s the person behind the gun. Parkland survivors have taken the gun control message across the U.S., but why have we not seen protests over texting and driving that kills over 11 teenagers every day? Is it right to take away an individual's gun, but let the protesters keep their cell phones while driving?

DeVoe Moore is a Tallahassee businessman.