When Nicole Arney, 17, was killed last month in a accident as she drove along Highway 36 near Eureka, the teenager had been talking on a cellphone, speeding and not wearing a seat belt, according to the California Highway Patrol.
Traveling 50 to 60 mph in a 20-mph zone, her minivan encountered a sharp curve, flipped over a guardrail and plummeted 300 feet down an embankment. Nicole, of nearby Carlotta, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. The crash was so forceful, the vehicle was "flattened down to about 2 feet," said CHP Sgt. Tom Allen.
Excessive speed, using a cellphone while driving, inattention and her failure to buckle up all likely contributed to the fatal accident, Allen said. Shortly before the crash, the teenager told her friend on the cellphone that her foot was caught on something in the vehicle.
It's tragic accidents such as this that have recently prompted California legislators to propose banning teen provisional drivers from talking on cellphones -- including hands-free devices -- while on the road. Motor-vehicle crashes are the No. 1 cause of death and serious injury among young people nationwide. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that the number of U.S. motor-vehicle fatalities involving 16- to 20-year olds rose to 7,405 last year, up from 7,353 the previous year.
Legislators in California and a growing number of other states say something has to be done to curtail such tragedies. Proposed solutions include minor citations for young drivers and ticketing their parents.
"We have sent a strong message that drinking and driving do not mix, and now we have to send the message to our teenagers that yakking on a cellphone while driving doesn't mix either," says Assemblywoman Bonnie Garcia (R-Cathedral City).
Garcia's proposed bill would prohibit teens with provisional licenses from using a cellphone and text-messaging while operating a motor vehicle, unless there is an emergency. The bill, already approved by the Assembly transportation committee, was to be heard this week by the Senate committee, Garcia says.
If the bill becomes law, such a violation would be considered a secondary offense, meaning that police could only cite the teen driver if the officer had already stopped the vehicle for a separate violation.
Penalties for a first offense under the proposed bill would be eight to 16 hours of community service and a $35 fine. A second offense would require 16 to 24 hours of community service and a $50 fine.
