Alexander & Bryant work to make streets safer with texting ban

Five Americans have formed a national advocacy group to spread the word that cell phones are a distraction American drivers cannot handle.

Jennifer Smith of Grapevine, Texas, Judy Teater of Spring Lake, Mich., Shelley Forney of Ft. Collins, Colo., Rob Reynolds of Omaha, Neb., and Elissa Schee of Citra, Fla., all have lost family members in vehicle accidents they said were caused by drivers who were either using cell phones or text messaging.

The five are all founding members of FocusDriven, an advocacy group for cell-free driving that was formally introduced this week at a news conference hosted by the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Safety Council.

The group, the Web page for which went live Wednesday, is hopeful they can be a “valuable resource for those who have lost loved ones as a result of the senseless and preventable practice of distracted driving,” said FocusDriven’s president, Jennifer Smith. Read more