On Thursday the Maryland Senate passed a version of “Jake’s Law” that would provide serious penalties for motorists whose distracted driving causes serious accidents. The House of Delegates passed a similar bill on March 14.
Jake’s Law would provide a prison sentence of up to three years and fine of up to $5,000 for any driver whose manually entered texts cause an accident that results in serious injury or death. As if Werner Herzog’s chilling anti-texting documentary weren’t enough!
But of course, the fact is that people still regularly text and drive, Herzog be damned. And the point of Jake’s Law is to send the message that distracted driving “is the new drunk driving,” to quote Susan Yum, the mother of Jake Owen, whose death at five years old in a texting-related accident inspired the law.
