This article can be found here.
November 2, 2009
The British government has chosen to take a tougher stance on accidents directly resulting from texting, particularly accidents that lead to casualties. 22-year-old Phillipa Curtis was the first victim of its harsh sentencing when she was given almost two years of jailtime after getting into an accident resulting in the death of 24-year-old Victoria McBryde. Since records had shown that Curtis had been texting minutes before the event and had received an unopened message only moments before, prosecutors argued that Curtis had been looking down at her phone when the accident occurred. Though this seemed to be mere interpretation, the courts had felt as if they had to prosecute Curtis in order to make an example out of her and the effects of texting while driving. Surprisingly, several of McBryde's friends had also found the decision to be harsher than deserved, as they realized how much they, too, text on their phones while driving. The victim herself had sent a message and talked on the phone during her drive. Still, chief justice Lloyd Jones found the sentencing to be quite lenient.
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