Gloria Wilhelm said Thursday that a state law banning text-messaging while driving comes too late for her youngest son, Matt, who died after he was hit by a car driven by a woman downloading ring tones to her cell phone.
The statewide law takes effect Jan. 1. The City of Chicago banned texting while driving last year.
(Richard A. Chapman/Sun-Times)
Gloria Wilhelm said the law's impact is up to Illinois drivers.
"It's not too late for you or a member of your family" to stop using hand-held devices while driving," Wilhelm said at a news conference at Northeastern Illinois University, a commuter school where most students drive to classes.
She also raised a sensitive political question: Will this law be enough, or will a stronger deterrent be necessary? Will drivers obey their parents, employers and school officials by adhering to no-texting policies?
Other questions remained unanswered, including how police can or will enforce the law when it allows for texting while a car is in park or when a motorist is reporting an accident.
Quinn, who also signed a bill banning talking on cell phones in construction zones and school-safety zones, said the discussion will continue in September when U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood convenes a summit to study the increasingly alarming issue of distracted driving.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that 25 percent to 30 percent of reported crashes -- 1.2 million a year -- involve drivers not paying attention.
Other studies show the risk of a crash or near-accident is 23 times higher for a motorist who is text- messaging while driving. Drivers using cell phones are four times more likely to be involved in personal-injury crashes than other drivers.
Nearly half of drivers ages 18 to 24 have sent a text, instant message or e-mail while driving, while 27 percent of drivers 25 to 34 admit having done the same, according to FindLaw.com.
Quinn credited Secretary of State Jesse White for spearheading the safe-driving legislation, as well as the anti-texting bill's sponsors, Representatives John D'Amico (D-Chicago) and Bill Black (R-Danville) and Sen. Martin San- doval (D-Cicero).
"Who can drive while putting their thoughts together, hitting the right keys and sending a message? That's a formula for someone getting hurt or killed," White said.
While the anti-texting measure was overwhelmingly approved by the Legislature, it did hit some speed bumps on the way to Quinn's signature. Concerns about privacy, enforcement and racial profiling were raised in debate in the House and Senate.
Sen. Kwame Raoul (D-Chicago), who voted against the legislation, said Thursday he agrees with the need to persuade motorists not to text or surf the Internet while driving. But he questions whether this law is the way to do it.
"If I believed this new law was going to curb texting while driving, I'd be gung ho for it," Raoul said. "But I think what we're doing is we're passing a law that will have limited, if any, deterrent effect. It will be difficult to enforce. How an officer from his or her vehicle determines that a driver is texting is beyond me."
Raoul also said he is troubled by the idea that a police officer, while looking at a motorist's cell phone to determine if he or she had been texting while driving, could be invading privacy by examining text messages that were sent or received before the driver got behind the wheel.
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