Parents warn of texting dangers

by Bill Croyle, NKY Enquirer

UNION — Alex Brown could text with the best of them. Sending and receiving 10,000 messages in just a few weeks time was nothing to her. Texting with multiple people at once was easy.  But on the morning of Nov. 10, 2009, she did it while driving.

The 17-year-old senior from Wellman, Texas, died that day after flipping her pickup truck off a rural road on her way to school. She was not wearing a seat belt and was ejected through the front windshield. Investigators later found her phone, and evidence on it that she had been texting with four friends just prior to the crash.

Her parents, Jeanne and Johnny Mac Brown, shared their daughter’s story with about 400 juniors Monday here at Ryle High School.

“We’re not here to scare you,” Jeanne Brown said. “We simply want you to know the truth of what happens when you text and drive.”

The Browns started the Remember Alex Brown Foundation to educate the public about the dangers of texting and driving. They began traveling the country telling Alex’s story just weeks after her funeral, and try to drive everywhere they go so they can tow the truck Alex was driving. The Chevy Silverado, which sat outside Ryle on Monday, is in the same condition it was after the crash shattered glass, a crushed roof, four flat tires.

“I told my wife that we needed to show kids that truck,” Johnny Mac Brown said. “My idea was to do a dozen or so of these talks around our hometown and it would be over, but word of mouth kept it going. I never knew it was going to be this big.”

The Browns have spoken in 26 states, and are booking engagements into next year. They will speak at several high schools in Cincinnati this week, including Madeira, Wyoming, Mariemont, Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy and Seven Hills Academy.

They will also conduct a workshop for parents at the Ralph Rush Center in Florence (next to Florence Elementary School) at 7 p.m. Thursday, and will speak at Cooper High School on Friday morning.

According to www.distraction.gov, the official U.S. government website for distracted driving, drivers are 23 times more likely to crash if texting, with teen drivers more likely than any other age group to be involved in a fatal crash when distracted.

Jeanne Brown, who was the first to come upon the crash scene after Alex didn’t show up for school that morning, opened her talk Monday by describing that horror. Johnny Mac Brown talked about how his daughter’s decision changed the lives of everyone close to her, something teens who believe they are invincible don’t think about before making choices, he said.

“It should not be an option for parents to have to bury their children,” he said.

They also played a video from their 13-year-old daughter, Katrina, who spoke directly to the students about the emptiness in her life since Alex’s death.

The Browns then invited students to sign a pledge to not text and drive. Though students were not required to take a pledge card, most did.

“This was very emotional, very helpful and sent a very good message,” said 16-year-old Katie Connor, who just got her license. “I’ve read a few texts while driving, but this has changed my view. I can’t wait to sign the pledge.”

Cole Snyder, 16, was struck by Katrina’s message that Alex was her hero.

“The sibling part got to me because I have a little brother and I know he looks up to me,” Cole said. “This has definitely opened my eyes and made me rethink some stuff.”

Daniel Jensen, 17, said he often travels through rush hour traffic to go to Boy Scout meetings in Cincinnati, and admitted he checks his phone while in the stop-and-go traffic.

“I’ve had a couple of close calls,” he said. “This (talk) was powerful and will make me think twice.”
State texting-while-driving laws were passed in Kentucky and Indiana in 2010 and 2011, respectively.

In Ohio, certain cities and counties have laws against texting and driving, including Cincinnati.
They are laws, though, that many law enforcement officials have said are difficult to enforce.

“Laws aren’t going to fix the problem, and our presentation isn’t going to fix the problem, but I think it helps,” Johnny Mac Brown said.

Jeanne Brown said roughly half the students they’ve spoken to the past two years have signed the pledge.

“We know some kids aren’t going to listen, and not all of them will keep the pledge, but some of them will,” she said. “And for those some that do, it’s that many parents who won’t have to get that call that something has happened to their child.”

http://nky.cincinnati.com/article/AB/20120123/NEWS0103/301230142