Crash has Vaca couple issuing call for caution

From TheReport.com

It was over in a matter of seconds, but the crash that totaled their 18-year-old grandson's car keeps playing over and over in the minds of Vacaville couple Sheila and Carnus Ratliff.
And not just because the entire thing was captured on a surveillance camera at their home.

The recent incident happened when a driver traveling north on Davis Street rammed his black pickup truck into the back of a Toyota Corolla, driven by the Ratliff's grandson. The car then barreled toward three teens walking on the sidewalk, pushing one of them.

Fortunately, no injuries were reported.

It's what the Ratliffs say the driver said afterward that haunts them.

They say he admitted he was looking at his cell phone and didn't even have time to react before he hit the car, which was stopped to let the pedestrians pass before turning into the Ratliff's driveway.

"It was like a cannon going off," said Sheila Ratliff. "It was a miracle that no one was hurt."

Seeing vehicles speed by their home on Davis Street is not a new thing for the Ratliffs, who have lived in the house for 33 years.

"It doesn't matter which direction they're going, we've had several accidents," said Carnus Ratliff. "The road is so long and straight, it's easy for them to speed."

If an accident doesn't occur, drivers are cussing at them or flipping them off, just as they pull into their own driveway.

"I've seen people drive on the wrong side of the road just to pass us," Sheila said. "Wemoved here when we were surrounded by country property and we don't want to move."
Each time she looks at the surveillance video, Sheila is shocked.

"Slow down and don't talk on your cell phone," she said. "This was preventable."

Vacaville Traffic Sgt. Terry Cates said even though drivers were warned 18 months in advance of a new law that passed in July 2008 -- which prohibits people from driving a motor vehicle while using a wireless telephone unless that telephone is specifically designed and configured to allow hands-free listening and talking -- they're still talking on their phones.

"We see it everyday," he said. "It's hard not to go a block without seeing someone using their cell phone."

Cates said more than 2,000 citations have been issued just for cell phone use, but there is more to it than just handing out tickets.

"It's our goal to find a balance and combine the enforcement with education," he said.

Cates said that so far, only minor wrecks have occurred as a result of someone using a cell phone.

"We have had a few, but, thankfully, they've been minor accidents," he said. "I wouldn't say using a cell phone is the cause of traffic accidents, but it's definitely a contributing factor."

As for the Ratliffs, they want people to pay attention.

"If we save one life because someone didn't use their cell phone, then this is worth it," Sheila said.