| Our First Priority Must be the Safety of Our Children |
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Senator Shirley Breeden Wednesday, May 8, 2009  As the mother of three and grandmother of three, family is everything to me. I have spent my life ensuring that children were safe and healthy. As a bus dispatcher so long ago, I witnessed firsthand the importance of keeping Nevada’s roadways safe for our children and families. My legislation, SB 136, will do just that. This legislation will prohibit a person from using their cell phone to write, read, or send electronic messages while driving. When you take the wheel of a car, I believe, you have a responsibility to all other drivers and passengers with you to be a safe and focused driver. You can’t live up to that responsibility while text messaging at 50 mph on Interstate 15. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration found that nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention. In 2007, at least one person died and 143 people suffered injuries in Nevada crashes where hand-held phones were partially to blame. There were 179 reports of property damage from cell-phone involved accidents. Accidents can occur at any moment—whether stopped at a stop sign or driving on an interstate, staying alert is essential to driving safely. Our youth text message frequently when they should be focused on the street. It has been estimated that 20 percent of people nationally send or receive text messages while driving, and among young adults, that number is three times as high. We owe it to Nevada’s families to ensure the roads are safe for all of us—especially our most precious cargo—our children. This legislation is a positive step in protecting our streets and our families. To learn more about Senator Shirley Breeden, click here.
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