Stephanie’s iPhone begins vibrating as it lay nestled in the cup holder of her newly acquired Ford she recently received for her 16th birthday. Stephanie hears the rumbling vibration as the phone careens around the outer-edges of the cup holder: zzzz — zzzz — zzzz. She quickly peers towards the direction of the vibrating device and notices a text message from her best friend, Monica. Stephanie knows the text is regarding whether Monica’s dream-guy, Jimmy Cash, has finally asked her to prom as anticipated. Stephanie attempts to ignore the text, but the overwhelming suspense is too much to grasp. She quickly snatches the device and opens the text, which reads: “Jimmy finally asked! Woohooo!” As Stephanie intermittently begins to text a few congratulatory words, a truck in front of her suddenly stops short. Stephanie looks up and quickly attempts to apply the brakes, but to no avail. The bed of the truck violently crashes through Stephanie’s windshield. Stephanie is killed instantly.

Stephanie is one of thousands of teenagers who die every year due to distracted driving. The facts are unsettling:

1. Last year, drivers younger than 20 had the highest distracted driving fatality rate among all age groups.
2. A driver is 23 times more likely to crash if he is texting-while-driving.
3. Even though 84% of teenagers aged 16-19 understand that distracted driving is dangerous, 86% nevertheless continue to do it.

How do we keep the roads safe for our teenagers? Parents, experts say, are the ultimate key to safety. The following are important tips for parents to keep their teenager[s] safe:

1. Lead by example. Teenagers live in a “monkey see, monkey do” environment. When parents text and drive, it becomes acceptable behavior and a dangerous cycle ensues.
2. Communicate the dangers of distracted driving. Teenagers are increasingly unimpressionable. Thus, passively barraging them with gruesome accident scene photos will not suffice. Instead, parents need to communicate the dangers of texting-while-driving and reprimand their teenager[s] when they engage in such activity.
3. Encourage their teenager[s] to speak up against texting-while-driving when they are passengers in a vehicle.

Parents are the first line of defense against teenager fatalities. Speak with your teenager[s] about the perils of distracted driving so that we, as a community, can make the roads safer for young drivers like Stephanie.

As a proud backer of Claire’s Day and in furtherance of the memory and wishes of Claire Rubini we would highly recommend all parents take their children Saturday, May 19, 2012 to the Maumee Library to support this wonderful cause. Visit their website for additional information www.clairesday.org

WDT recently obtained another large settlement of $900,000.00 for the tragic death of a baby.

The professional organization of America’s top young trial attorney has selected Chad Tuschman as one of its Top 40 Under 40. This selection is by invitation only and is extended exclusively to only those individuals who exemplify superior qualifications, trial results, and leadership as a young trial lawyer.

Martin W. Williams was recently selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America ® 2012 in the field of Personal Injury. (Copyright 2011 by Woodward/White, Inc., of Aiken, S.C.).