Reggie Shaw, an athletic and studious 19 year old from Utah served 30 days in jail charged with two counts of negligent homicide for killing two men while texting his girlfriend and driving. Reggie states “When I left that morning, it was definitely not my intention to hurt or harm anyone, and I took two lives.” This prompted Utah officials to signn into law a House Bill prohibiting drivings from using a cell phone for text messaging or electronic mail communication while operating a vehicle. If caught they will face jail time and a hefty fine. Studies conducted at the University of Utah found texing while driving to be comparable to driving with a blood alcohol level twice the legal limit! Reggie was also sentenced to 100 hours of community service and frequently travels to schools to inform teenagers of the dangers of drunk driving. I think that is a excellent idea to show Reggie’s raw emotions for being a part of something he thought would never happen to him, a common misconception made by teens. While browsing the many videos available on the subject I found a few examples of driving simulators that show how distracted you can become when texting behind the wheel. I would like to see this as a mandatory part of driver’s education classes in the future along with PSA videos such as Reggie’s. And for those of you who already do not text while driving you must also spread this message as the two men killed that day were innocent bystanders to someone else’s mistake. Somebody’s son, father and husband.
To see the actual people involved in the Reggie Shaw tragedy watch the video below.
