David Henson was killed in an extremely tragic motor vehicle-pedestrian accident on March 4, 2013 in St. George, Utah. David had been on a walk with his wife Leslee Henson when the accident occurred. That at-fault driver had been text messaging on her cell phone while behind the wheel. Leslee was also badly injured, but she survived. She and her daughter have since been aggressively fighting for positive changes in the way people drive in our state. A major battle was won in that war against distracted driving when the first anti-texting and driving sign was posted this week at the site of the fatal crash.
The sign reads, “Texting While Driving is Against the Law.” Immediately below it is another sign that reads, “This Sign Placed in Memory of David Henson.” St. George City Council unanimously approved the use of such signs on June 20th. A small group of friends and family, as well as Mayor Dan McArthur, attended the unveiling of the sign.
Distracted driving causes many accidents in Southern Utah every year. Texting while driving may be the worst offender because it can take our attention off of the roadway completely. Unfortunately, many drivers do not internalize tragic stories like this one. People like to think that nothing bad will happen to them. What people fail to realize is that each time you make a decision to drive while distracted; you are endangering the lives of other people in addition to your own. Even safe drivers make mistakes. If you drive distracted, the odds that you will eventually make a mistake skyrocket. Texting while driving is illegal in Utah. Drivers can and will be cited for it. It is up to all St. George drivers to make the decision to not text while driving so that they can help make St. George a safer place.
For more on this story visit: http://www.stgeorgeutah.com/news/archive/2013/07/25/mgk-first-of-many-no-texting-signs-unvieled-in-st-george/
