Texting teens could cost parents everything

Boston Herald ^ | 5/31/12 | Margery Eagan

[raccoonradio]

Yesterday in a Haverhill courtroom, jurors heard a taped police interview of Aaron Deveau admitting he was “tired,” “distracted” and speeding when his Blue Chevy Malibu hit the red Toyota Corolla driven by 55-year-old Donald Bowley Jr., who was killed, and Luz Selena Roman, 58, who was severely injured.

But Deveau, 18, denied he was talking on the phone or texting, though he is accused of vehicular homicide in the state’s first texting-while-driving case.

Attorneys here clearly expect many more of these cases — and more survivors of those injured to sue for damages from not just texting teens but the parents of those teens when parents own the car.

Google “Massachusetts,” “texting,” and “accidents.” You’ll find pages of listings for personal injury lawyers saying more or less the same thing: “If you, or someone close to you, was injured in a motor vehicle accident in which texting while driving played a role, contact”:

•    The lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck, who cite more than 80 years’ combined experience ...

•    The attorneys at Colucci, Colucci, Marcus & Flavin, who claim a proven record of success ...

•    Danvers Distracted Driver Accident Attorney Stephen D. Walsh, who says he is available to visit you at home or in the hospital ...

If you’re a parent petrified that your own teen may be texting while driving too, here’s the possible nightmare scenario, said Randy Chapman, former chief of the Essex motor vehicle homicide unit. Say your teen, like most teens, texts nonstop. Say you’ve caught your teen texting once, maybe more, behind the wheel. Say you let your teen borrow the car anyway, and your texting teen causes an accident. Then a lawyer listed above could civilly sue for your home, your savings, your everything.

We can all sit in judgment and say texting teen drivers, and their parents, deserve everything they get. Here’s the irony: “People universally say it is wrong, but it’s something people universally do,” Chapman said.

In fact, numerous studies say millions of us, kids and adults, text while driving. That’s many more than would ever drink and drive anymore, though texting while driving “is probably more dangerous,” said David White of Breakstone, White & Gluck.

In the police tape yesterday, Aaron Deveau at one point asked about the two victims, Bowley and Roman, “If anything happens to them, if one of them passes away, what would happen to me?” Well, we know this much: He faces four years in jail. Prosecutors said he sent or received 193 texts messages in the hours before the tragic crash. And we know this, too: 193 texts in a few hours makes him not very different from lots of our own kids.

Just hope yours really listens next time you repeat, for the millionth time, don’t text when you’re driving. Please.

[DeFault User]

his parents are still responsible for his actions?

The owner of the car is responsible insofar as insurance is concerned. If the liability limit is exhausted, everyone gets hit.

[Mad Dawgg]

Myself I've never seen the fascination in "texting" constantly.

I agree it sometimes has an advantage like when my wife is on her way home from work and wants to know what we need from the grocery store. This makes sense I send her a list of the items and she doesn't have to remember them or write them down.

But otherwise I don't get texting. To me its a step backwards on the communications evolutionary scale. Your not sure if the info you imparted was received and you must wait for a reply and if the reply doesn't come immediately you don't know if its because they didn't receive the info or don't know the answer or if you dropped service and so on. But if I actually use the phone and have a voice converstaion I can immediately know all of the above and its much faster.

So I rarely text and I would never do so while driving it just seems stupid. But I see nothing wrong with "Hands Free" cell phone use being its no different from talking to a passenger in the car. But driving while holding a cell phone constantly to your ear is just dumb. Especially when "Hands Free "options are so cheap now.

[ZX12R]

But otherwise I don't get texting. To me its a step backwards on the communications evolutionary scale.

The distinction is, you actually thought about it. That's your problem, you let brains enter into it. You should just join the mindless herd of millions on mobile devices all starring at each other on FaceBook and texting in between vanity updates.

[Mad Dawgg]

Actually I get the idea of Facebook being my whole family keeps in touch using it by sharing pics of the kids activities and videos and such. They use it to plan family outings and vacations. Its really handy for that. I also have many friends and family who use Facebook for Business They are writers and musicians and such. Facebook is Godsend for those types of independent producers for getting the word out about their wares.

What I can't understand is using your cellphone to text someone else on a cellphone. Just for a conversation.

To me its like riding your bicycle and pulling your car behind you. Its going backwards in ease of use and speed.

[Tax-chick]

I use texting for the same purpose. Texting “Pls get ice, wine, milk.” is much quicker than phoning my husband, leaving a message on his voice mail, having him call back because he didn’t listen to the voice mail, getting the message that he called back, calling him back again ...

And that’s not even getting into the disastrous potential when children get involved in the exchange of messages! “Daddy called, he said he’s going to go ... somewhere ... and then he’ll get ... a grenade?”

[UCANSEE2]

Spell-check would never have caught this.

Thank you. I believe that was the point I was trying to make.