On June 24, Texas linebacker Sergio Kindle was texting. While that in and of itself is not newsworthy, ESPN reports that Mr. Kindle received or sent the text message while he was driving a car. It is alleged that in the time that it took Mr. Kindle to look at the text message on his phone, he crashed his car into an Austin apartment building. Kindle has a prior arrest for drunk driving which caused him to miss the first three NFL games of the 2007 season.
Greater Harm Could Have Been Caused
Mr. Kindle was lucky in that he only suffered a concussion, no one inside the apartment building was hurt and the estimated property damage is under $10,000. Mr. Kindle could have suffered a more significant head injury or traumatic brain injury that would have forever changed his life. He could have seriously hurt or killed someone inside that apartment building. Thankfully, none of those things happened. Still, a concussion and thousands of dollars in property damage seem too high a price to pay for sending or receiving a text message.
Can State Laws Prevent These Kinds of Accidents?
In recent years many states have passed laws that forbid the use of handheld cell phones will driving and now many states are considering laws that ban text messaging while driving as well.
Do you think state laws will decrease the prevalence of texting while driving and the accidents which sometimes result from such behavior?