Parents of kids killed by cell phone drivers speak out

From KDVR.com:

DENVER - "Don't talk, just drive." That's the theme of a new campaign kicked off in Colorado Monday.

The National Safety Council and State Patrol are trying to make us more aware of the dangers of cell phones behind the wheel.

It's pretty scary when you think about it. Two or three seconds during the time you look down at your cell phone at highway speeds and your car travels more than the length of a football field.

And while Colorado recently banned texting and driving, some parents who've lost their kids say that doesn't go far enough.

We saw plenty of downtown Denver drivers still on their cell phones Monday. This, despite the fact distracted driving is behind 80 percent of all crashes and cell phones are the number one distraction.

"Save a life hang up and drive your car," said Shelley Forney of Fort Collins who's nine year old daughter Erica was killed by a woman on a cell phone in December. "There's no call, there's no call that's important enough that you need to take it while you're driving."

Her daughter's death sparked her efforts to get a ban on cell phones while driving in Colorado.

"My 12 year old son Joe was killed by a cell driver, who ran a red light in Grand Rapids, Michigan," said Dave Teater, who turned his grief to lead the National Safety Council's campaign against cell phone use while driving.

To focus on the 636,000 crashes and 2600 deaths a year caused by those distracted behind the wheel.

"It's important to me to let people know that they have got to make that decision to stop," said Shelley Forney, "It takes a split second and someone's life is changed forever."

Her daughter's death resulted in a Colorado law passed in June banning texting and driving, and no cell phones for drivers under 18. But she wants to take it a step further.

"Your life will never be the same and it's all because of a split second choice to make a phone call and look away from the road and they can't do it they just can't do it," said Forney.

"The people in the school bus and the cars saw her talking on her cell phone and looking straight out the windshield," said Dave Teater of the driver in the accident that took his son's life.

"That's the power of the distraction of using a cell phone while driving. Our 12 year old son never recovered and was pronounced dead about 12 hours later," he said.

One of the members of the "Don't Talk Just Drive" campaign is riding his motorcycle across the country to share the grief of those two parents.

I talked to two local driving schools who both say it's more about the distraction that impedes your ability to drive whether it's the cell phone or anything else that takes your eyes off the road.