Distracted Driving Special Report

Most of us are guilty of it- answering the phone while driving or sending a quick text message to let a friend know we're running late. Our actions may seem innocent enough, but the results can be tragic. It's happened time, and time and time again- deadly accidents caused by drivers armed with cell phones.

David Teater, victim of distracted driving: "I think it's something we all have been doing, we all learned to do it, we all became dependent upon it and we had no idea how dangerous it was."

But David Teater and his family are living with the pain and devastation every day. In 2004. Teater's wife was driving his 12-year-old son Joe to an after school tutoring session.

David Teater: "She crossed a busy highway, went through a green light, and she wasn't the first one through the intersection, she was probably the fourth or fifth, and a young lady driving in one of the southbound lanes did not see the red light, she did not see four other cars and a school bus that were stopped in the other southbound lane, she didn't see the traffic in front of her, she was on her cell phone."

The distracted woman sped through the stop light and smashed into the vehicle carrying Teater's wife and youngest son. The impact destroyed the Teater's car and knocked young Joe unconscious. He never woke up.

David Teater: "He was just a, gosh, he was just a great kid. He had a lot of friends, he was getting into video production, he loved making movies with his friends."

In just an instant, Joe's plans for college, his goals and his dreams were all gone. At the driver's sentencing, Teater told a judge how his family's life would never be the same.

David Teater: "It's been 5 and a half years and I miss him as much today as I ever did. It never changes, you know, that just never changes. You learn to live with it a little bit more, but it changes your life forever, and in our case it was because of a cell phone. You know, that just doesn't seem right."

The distracted driver, Holly Jo Smacker, was put on probation and forced to pay a hefty fine, but if it was up to her, the punishment would have been far worse. 6 months after the fatal accident, Teater quit his job and devoted his life to making sure this never happens again. His campaign has taken him from Michigan's Capitol to Capitol Hill.

David Teater: "I want people to know I think we all understand that texting or looking at our emails is extremely dangerous, we shouldn't do it."

Several bills that ban cell phone use while driving have been introduced at the state's Capitol, and the lawmakers behind them say it's vital that the legislation gets passed quickly, so no more lives are lost.

Rep. Lee Gonzales, (D) Flint Twp.: "It's about our families, it's about our friends. This is an epidemic of major proportions, this is a safety issue."

Representative Lee Gonzales has personally felt the impact. His pregnant daughter in law was hit by a distracted driver. No one was injured, but that accident fueled his motivation to move legislation that bans texting while driving.

Rep. Lee Gonzales: "It's time that we have better driving habits, two hands on the wheel, two eyes on the road."

If the bills pass, Gonzales says he will push even further.

Rep. Lee Gonzales: "Hopefully in the future we can ban cell phone use."

Teater supports Gonzales' efforts.

David Teater: "What's important about legislation is that it kind of sets the ground rules, it kind of says this is not okay."

But he hopes the rules and his own testimony will be enough to convince drivers to think twice before getting behind the wheel with a cell phone.

David Teater: "It would be rewarding to know that Joe's death had some meaning, and that maybe we prevented even one family from going thru what we are going through."



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