The following is an article I wrote while attending the NECIR Journalism program at BU. This topic is one that I am very interested in and wanted to share on this website.
Richard and Anna Levitan, whose daughter Merritt was killed by a distracted driver, are advocating for a hands-free law passed in Massachusetts to prevent fatalities caused by drivers on their cellphones.
The bill, if passed, would ban the use of handheld mobile devices while driving in the state of Massachusetts. This would include dialing, entering in GPS information, and other distracting actions. The proposed law is an attempt to decrease crashes caused by distracted drivers, which, in 2016, killed 3,450 people, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
Merritt Levitan, 18, was biking along a road in rural Arkansas with a group of cyclists when she was fatally hit by Teagan Ross Martin, 21, who was texting at the time of the crash. Martin additionally hit six of the 13 cyclists, according to the Boston Globe. “What he was doing was not against the law,” says Richard Levitan, “but it has tragic consequences.”
Following Merritt’s death, the Levitans urged Georgia state officials to pass the hands-free law, while spreading awareness throughout the state. Following the passing of the hands-free law in Georgia, the Levitans continued to urge Massachusetts officials to become the 16th US state to implement the ban on hand-held devices while driving. “It’s all about prioritization,” says Richard Levitan, “why hands free legislation is not near the top of the list - that’s why we’re here.”
Massachusetts is experiencing an ongoing struggle to pass the hands-free driving ban as legislators fear this will cause an increase in racial profiling, specifically towards black and Hispanic drivers, according to Mass. House Speaker Robert DeLeo, as reported in the Boston Globe. State Representative Byron Rushing (D-South End) hopes to see language in this bill that would work towards ending racial profiling by Massachusetts Police: “If this bill came before us with that language, then I can support that.”
A study by AAA Northeast shows that 74 percent of Massachusetts residents support the hands-free bill. “It’s what the people want,” explains Anna Levitan.
While this issue continues to be debated among state legislators, the Levitans will continue to push for the passing of the hands-free bill.