Thursday, December 10, 2009

Texting Ban Leaves Teens Frustrated and Targeted

New texting-while-driving laws in North Carolina, which went into effect December 1st, have some teens frustrated and feeling targeted.

The North Carolina newspaper, DailyAdvance, speaks with one girl about her texting habits. She admits to sending about 200 per day and texting while driving. But she's not the only one. The Pew Research Center released a study this month revealing that 1-in-4 American teens has sent a text message while driving.

19 states have jumped on board with the text-while-driving ban, but NC teens are feeling targeted.

Shanequa Riddick, 18, says she’s glad that law enforcement will be cracking down, but that text messaging has become a nationwide phenomenon, one that is catching on with all age groups.

“I think (the ban is) fair, because it could cause you to have an accident, but even older people do it,” Riddick says.

Kieshaih Holloway, 19, calls the focus on teen drivers “frustrating.”

“They say we have more problems with accidents and problems in the road. We’re just now learning (how to be safe drivers), but the whole texting thing (adults) make it just as big of a risk as we do,” Holloway says.

Thursday, December 3, 2009

19 Year Old Driver Calls to Report Herself as Drunk Driver

According to a Washington State Patrol release, a 19-year-old Auburn woman was arrested for physical control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated after calling 911 to report herself as “very drunk” while stopped on the shoulder of state Route 167 in King County.

At about 5 a.m. Nov. 16, patrol communications received a cellular 911 call from Alysha McInnis claiming that she pulled to the shoulder of southbound SR 167 in Auburn because she was intoxicated and began to lose her vision. McInnis told the dispatcher that she was underage and very drunk. She advised the dispatcher that she was given alcohol at a party without her knowledge and her friends told her that she could call 911 to have the police come pick her up and take her to the hospital to detox.

When a trooper contacted McInnis, she claimed that her arm was numb and she had blurry vision. The trooper noted that McInnis had bloodshot and watery eyes, slurred speech and appeared extremely intoxicated. The trooper observed a 20 ounce alcohol energy drink in the cup holder which contained 12 percent alcohol. McInnis advised the trooper that she was drinking the alcohol drink while driving and that she had drank four of the same drinks at the party.

After further investigation, the trooper believed all the symptoms she was experiencing were a result of the amount of alcohol she drank both at the party and on her way home.

McInnis was processed for physical control of a motor vehicle while intoxicated and transported to Auburn Regional Medical Center where she was released for detox treatment.


Thank you to PNWLocalNews.com