Last week in the Polk County town of Davenport, the family of Heather Hurd gathered for an event that named a portion of U.S. 27 the Heather Hurd Memorial Highway. Three years ago, the 26-year-old woman was hit and killed by a truck driver who later admitted to authorities that he had been talking on a cell phone at the time.
That tragic event was hardly an anomaly. According to statistics produced by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHSTA), nearly 6,000 people died in 2008 and more than half a million were injured in crashes involving distracted or inattentive drivers.
Backed by those solemn statistics, Heather’s family fought to get a measure passed in their home state of Maryland. The bill, which bans the use of handheld cell phones in autos, made the state one of only eight in the country to have such a ban. (Drivers can still use cellphones under the law, but only with hands-free devices.)
A more moderate measure — banning texting while driving — is now the law in some 30 states. But a handful still have no sanctions at all restricting the use of cellphones — and Florida is one of those states. Several lawmakers say they hope to change that this spring.
But that’s what observers thought would happen in 2010.
