Dec 01 2009
Local Teens Learn Dangers of Texting
“Is any message worth losing your life over?” Reggie Shaw asked Dixie High School students.
Three years ago, Reggie Shaw was responsible for the deaths of two men as he was sending and receiving text messages while driving in Cache County.
Students at Dixie High School had the opportunity to hear his story firsthand earlier this month during an assembly according to an article in The Spectrum.
Shaw said he was 19 years old when the accident happened. He was off to work, just like any other day.
“I made the choice to text and drive,” he said. “I’d done it before and didn’t think it was dangerous.”
While on his way to work, Shaw crossed the center line and hit the oncoming vehicle. The vehicle spun and was hit by the vehicle behind Shaw.
“These two men were husbands and fathers,” he said.
Shaw was charged with negligent homicide. He served 30 days in jail and was required to do 100 hours of community service. His service has been talking to youth about the dangers of texting while driving.
“It’s been three years (since the accident), and it (talking about it) never gets easier. This assembly is no easier than the first one,” Shaw said.
He added he hopes he makes a difference.
“It really helps me come to peace with what happened, knowing I might be saving someone else’s life,” Shaw said.
Along with telling his story, he presented facts about car accidents in Utah. According to his presentation, there are DUI accidents every three hours, and people are injured by another in distracted driving accidents every 94 minutes.
Some students were impacted by Shaw’s presentation. T.J. Norton, 16, said he’s tried to text and drive but he doesn’t have the coordination.
“This was impactful because it was a real person, not just a generic person tell you texting is bad,” he said.
Macy Keith, 17, said Shaw’s message was powerful.
“I’ve texted while driving before,” she said. “I try not to, though. It scares me.”
The assembly was part of Red Ribbon Week, a week dedicated to remembering the dangers and prevention of drugs and alcohol abuse.
Technorati Tags: car accidents, dangers of texting, dixie high school, driving, negligent homicide, text messages, texting
