WASHINGTON — Arkansan Merry Dye has some simple advice for people who like to text while driving: “Turn your phone off and put it away.”
Now the federal government is poised to spend more than $100 million to help Dye spread her message. On Friday, as part of a broad highway spending bill, the House and Senate passed “Mariah’s Act,” legislation named for Dye’s daughter Mariah West, an 18-year old from Rogers who died in a car crash while she was texting with friends.
Mariah’s Act, which was sponsored by U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor, a Democrat from Arkansas, would provide $115 million over the next twoyears in grants to states to develop education programs to combat the use of text-messaging devices while driving.
The legislation now heads to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature.
In May 2009, Mariah, who was about to graduate from Rogers High School, was texting a friend for directions as she drove to a Springfield Cardinals minor league baseball game.
She lost control of her car, which began to roll as it crossed the median. Mariah suffered massive head trauma and died. The last text she received was “Where u at.”
Dye said she still sees car loads of teenage drivers sending text messages while be-hind the steering wheel.
“You see texting constantly,” she said.
Educating children about the dangers of texting while driving is a challenge, Dye said, because, unlike older drivers, younger drivers have grown up in an age where texting is the norm. Children are almost never without their phones, Dye said, and it can be difficult for them to simply ignore incoming messages and concentrate on the road.
“It’s going to take massive education like it did for drinking and driving and seat belt use,” she said.
Pryor said he hoped the legislation would make the roads safer.
“Mariah’s story and her family’s advocacy to prevent similar tragedies have been on my mind as we have worked to pass this legislation,” he said. “This new law, named in her memory, will help inspire better driving habits and save lives.”
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, 3,092 people were killed in crashes involving a distracted driver in 2010. The department estimated 416,000 people were injured in such crashes during the same year.
The federal government defines distracted driving as any activity that could divert a person’s attention away from the primary task of driving, such as texting, talking on the phone, eating, drinking or watching a video.
Texting while driving is considered the most dangerous of those activities, according to the department, because it takes a driver’s eyes away from the road for nearly five secondsto read an average text.
At 55 miles per hour, that’s equivalent to driving the entire length of a football field blindfolded, the department said.
Mariah’s Act would make $115 million available over the next two years to states that enforce laws that prohibit drivers from texting while driving and prohibit drivers under 18 from using cell phones while driving.
The legislation, which authorizes a total of $1.35 billion in highway-safety spending over two years, also directs the Secretary of Transportation to provide grants to states as an incentive to adopt graduated licensing laws that include a two-step process for young drivers before they receive an unrestricted license. It also funds grants for drunk-driving educational programs and mandates traffic-safety information-sharing improvements between the states and the federal government.
Since Mariah died, Dye has participated in telecommunications company AT&T’s “It can wait” campaign to warn students of the dangers of texting and driving.
“My daughter had big dreams,” Dye said.
Dye said Mariah wanted to be a teacher, so she could make a difference in people’s lives.
During high school, Mariah participated in the Model United Nations, an invigorating exercise that got her interested in public policy and the legislative process, Dye said. Before she died, Dye recalled, Mariah had expressed an interest in visiting the floor of the U.S. Senate.
“Here she is, her story is educating people,” Dye said. “Her name is on the Senate floor.”
Dye paused.
“I’d trade it all to have her here.”
Northwest Arkansas, Pages 9 on 06/30/2012