Increase the fine and penalty for texting and driving in Georgia. How many more people have to die before this is taken seriously, this change will decrease the lives lost or endangered due to distracted driving.

According to the National Highway Transportation Administration, texting while driving makes you 23 times more likely to crash. Cell phone related distracted driving is responsible for 1,600,000 accidents per year -- that’s 23% of all accidents.

Six week old Zachary Vance was in a life changing accident on June 5th 2016 when a "distracted driver" struck the vehicle he was riding in with his mother and a family friend while stopped at a red light on highway 247 in Warner Robins, Georgia. There were no skid marks or screeching as the distracted driver hit them at "approximately 60 MPH". The young female driver stated that she was "distracted", investigation is ongoing.

Zachary suffered a subdural hemotoma, a subarachnoid brain hemmorage, two skull fractures and a broken collar bone. He was transported by LifeFlight helicopter to a children's hospital in Atlanta Georgia on life support after losing his heartbeat and vital signs. His mother and family friend both suffered non-life threatening bodily injuries and will have lasting effects for the forseeable future. His struggle can be observed at https://www.facebook.com/Prayersforzacharyvance/ . 

Texting and driving is against the law in Georgia, the penalty is a whopping $150 and 1 point on your drivers license, the fine doubles to $300 if involved in an accident.

The consequence of distracted driving should match the potential for serious injury or death. Help us make a change in the penalties in Georgia that will help regulate the actions of persons unwilling to police themselves in order to protect the health and safety of other drivers and their passengers.

Text messaging requires visual, manual and cognitive attention from the driver. Driving under the influence of drugs &/alcohol impedes one's visual, manual & cognitive attention to driving. Hence, texting while driving is no different than driving under the influence and should be treated under the law the same as driving while impaired.

Maryland has enacted Jake's law after the death of 5 year old Jake Owen who died at the hands of a distracted driver. Jake’s Law penalizes distracted drivers found guilty of causing a serious or fatal crash with up to three years in jail, a $5,000 fine and 12 points on their driver’s license — enough for the license to be suspended. Few other states have adopted such stiff penalties. An exception is Utah, which treats texting drivers involved in fatal crashes the same as drunk drivers. They can face up to 15 years in prison.

Utah has one of the toughest laws on record. Under Utah’s law, someone caught texting and driving now faces up to three months in jail and up to a $750 fine, a misdemeanor. If they cause injury or death, the punishment can grow to a felony and up to a $10,000 fine and 15 years in prison. Utah’s texting laws are considered “primary” laws. A primary law means that an officer can pull you over for the offense without having to witness some other violation. That is, the officer sees you texting and issues a citation.

Lets prevent another Zachary or a Jake...lets get tough in Georgia!

#JusticeForZachary