Cellular Destruction
On April 19, 2005, Oregon prosecutors filed aggravated vehicular homicide against Angelique Dipman, 27, a day after the death of 5-year-old Dameatrius McCreary.
The crash happened on a Thursday afternoon around 3:30pm on Starr Avenue in Oregon, USA. Police say a school bus stopped, with warning lights on and stop sign out, to let McCreary off the bus. Ohio laws require drivers to stop, but police say 27-year-old Dipman drove past the bus, and hit McCreary, throwing him several feet into the air. McCreary was taken by helicopter to The Toledo Hospital where doctors pronounced him dead.
"My prayers go out to the family," said Dipman as she was led into police headquarters by her attorney. When asked what happened, she reiterated, "I have no other comment other than my prayers go out to the family."
Police believe Dipman was on her cell phone at the time of the accident which may have distracted her. "You just don't drive by a stopped school bus with the lights flashing unless there is some distraction in some shape or form," said Oregon Police Chief Tom Gulch. The mother of Dameatrius, Sandra TenEyck, agreed by saying "This woman was on a cell phone. She didn't stop for a bus that had its stop sign out. I mean you have to see that. There's no way."
Local News Channel 11 checked Dipman's driving record and found her license has been suspended twice, she has been cited for speeding 4 times, and also received a child restraint citation in the past.
Dipman appeared for an arraignment in Oregon Municipal Court, pleading not guilty to the charge of aggravated vehicular homicide. She will be back in court on June 27th.
"I think you and I sitting here or anybody else is guilty of using a cell phone as we're driving," said Mayor Marge Brown of Oregon. That's why Brown thinks the city should consider enacting a law banning the use of cell phones while driving. "How many others are distracted by cell phones and usage? How many others are paying attention, either eating, doing make-up, radio blasting or on the cell phone? How many accidents have been caused because of that?" Brown asks.
In 2003, 33 states introduced bills that would ban the use of hand-held cell phones while driving. To date New York is the only state with such a ban. It went into effect in December 2001.
_________
"Actual Driving And Talking Accidents" can be found on the website of the syndicated National Public Radio show "Car Talk."
[+]
As a way of returning the extraordinary generosity and support you
have all shown me in this great community, whenever I upload a new
pic or series of shots this year, I'll provide a link to another
flickr
photog whose work, personality, or spirit I feel you should discover.
Visit and introduce yourself. Make a friend. Share the love.
Open your eyes to jen shumate today.
Comments and faves
DrJoanne (85 months ago | reply)
A very consciousness raising topic, Duane. Thank you for this...
imcuckoo2 (85 months ago | reply)
I agree with the sentiment. But let me play devil's advocate. Sometimes being on the phone while driving can help save a life...
* Honest * (85 months ago | reply)
wow.. intense story.. sure made me think. you are very right.
about the image its incredible as usual. i truly love the whiteground
stefan0 (85 months ago | reply)
point well made: now the question:
do handsfree sets help being less distracted ?
are you more distracted talking on a cell or with a passenger ?
and what about "drivebyshooting" ;-)
Garnite (85 months ago | reply)
I don't have a cell phone. I did, however, have to stop for a moron coming the wrong way over a one-way bridge, yapping on his cell phone the whole time. It should be illegal. Half the people on the roads can barely drive if they give it their full attention.
-Antoine- (85 months ago | reply)
Beside this particular case, I wonder if there are statistics about the gender of people involved in cell phone-caused accidents. Women have multi-tasked minds, while men, and I can concur, are usually more focused on one thing at a time. Cell-phone related accidents happen when someone becomes too focused on their conversation.
On another level, the golden light in your picture is beautiful.
art ascii(paul) (85 months ago | reply)
In the UK cellphone's may only be used on handsfree whilst driving. However research has shown that even use of a handsfree is not good, driving related concentration levels dip significantly.
I have a colleague who is the most enthuisiastic chap. His job is to generate awareness of road safety. He is a real dynamo at it. Each year he organises a competition for all the schools in Nottingham City. The kids have a great time. We have 37 road deaths a year in Nottingham. He'll only be happy when each year there are none. Me too for that matter.
I love the shot. The story is too sad.
neuskool (85 months ago | reply)
diggin this shot! the only accident that i've been in while at the wheel was being hit from the side by someone on the phone... i'm more for handsfree or not at all - people cannot drive as it is.
natmeister (85 months ago | reply)
it's also illegal to use a phone while driving here in Australia. you get something similar to a speeding ticket if you get caught...a fine and i'm pretty sure it goes on your driving record. seems like common sense to ban it if you ask me...it's an obvious safety hazard.
natmeister added this photo to her favorites. (85 months ago)
the tomahawk kid (85 months ago | reply)
illegal here in the uk too...and rightly so...mind you, you still see people doing it and many other crazy things too...good shot, great words as usual duane...
QbiT (85 months ago | reply)
You can get hefty fine's if they catch you here (Belgium), it's considered endangering other people. But you still see it a lot in daily life, and some people don't think it to be dangerous. But when you see how bad they then drive when on the phone they should learn the dangers.
*Perikita (85 months ago | reply)
I think it is not allowed in Mexico City the use of cell phone while driving. I don't know about the rest of the country. I have seen in Germany people doing it. I don't do it. I don't have cell phone, I don't have a car... This sort of accidents are just the cause of the impertinence of people. If the call is so important why not to park and take care of the call?
Your picture is great, beautiful colors. Great caption in this picture :)
epg (85 months ago | reply)
Eerily beautiful photograph. Great idea for a bit of interesting debate and consciousness raising.
Ditto what a lot of people have said. Garnite and neuskool make a great point too!
A couple of years ago a cyclist (bicycle) was hit and killed by a lady typing a text message while driving here in Australia. It had a real effect on me because it was at a time when I bought my first mobile phone and I attempted to read a text message I'd received whilst driving. I realised that, while it is a mobile phone, it is not a 'while your mobile on wheels' thing. I was surprised at how badly I was distracted. Either gender, it is endangering your fellow human beings.
Sadly, people ignore the law and, yes, we've all seen those numb nuts driving like oblivious drunks when they have one hand at their ear.
Robyn's Nest (85 months ago | reply)
The dark side of cellular glory! But nice shot, anyway!
LaT3x (85 months ago | reply)
wooow....
gorgeus
☆ Fotologica (85 months ago | reply)
In the Nehterlands it is prohibited to use cellphone in car unless it's handsfree set.
Sad story Duane. Take care.
Vina the Great (85 months ago | reply)
using cell phones while driving is now illegal over here, but I don't see much change. I see several drivers a day talking on the phone while whizzing by at 100 mph...
morons.
TFUFKAY (85 months ago | reply)
damn those cell-phones!
Deckard@tyrell.corp (85 months ago | reply)
What a sad story it is....
In France, bills are heavy for the use of cell-phones in car.
Mr SUBSONIX™ (85 months ago | reply)
It's its illegal to use hold you phone to either talk or sms in Australia. It's such a good idea. There have been many cases here too.
Just Peter (85 months ago | reply)
catchy colours leading to a sad story ...
i would welcome the bills to be introduced for torontot.
lotusutol (85 months ago | reply)
I'm in Australia and what I have to say has been said by natmeister and Dj MuDGuTz (gosh it's crazy typing that nick! ;) )
mimbrava (85 months ago | reply)
Thanks, Duane, for initiating this important discussion. Cell phones are not "golden," as your ironically lovely image suggests, but are dangerous and should be used only in an emergency while driving. Invariably when you see people driving erratically they are on cell phones, and studies have shown that the distraction occurs whether they are hand-held or not. It is the conversation, itself, that is the dangerous distraction.
sebastian's belle (85 months ago | reply)
yeah, i'm all for banning their use while driving. it's that way in the uk...but not here in toronto yet. tsk tsk.
drp (85 months ago | reply)
Studies have shown that your likelihood of being in an accident increase 400 percent when a cell phone is being used. Those are about the same odds of having an accident as when you're legally drunk.
Drivers with a cell phone in the car are 34 percent more likely to be in an accident. Also, drivers who used their phones for more than 50 minutes per month increase their risk of collision five-fold.
And yes, hands-free devices are just as risky as hand-held phones.
I am guilty of using a phone while driving, but have since stopped the practice, and now either pull off to the side of the road to make a call, or let the voicemail pick up incoming messages.
As far as "drive by shooting" is concerned - I rarely do it any more, and when I do it's as a passenger in a car. When I first started shooting, I never looked at the camera at all. I would keep it in my lap, hold it up in a particular direction, click, and hope I actually shot something decent.
OldhaMedia (85 months ago | reply)
Speaking for myself, I know that when I talk on a cell phone in the car, part of my brain I use to drive is distracted too much carry on a conversation. (This does not happen when I am speaking to someone in the car.)
I don't talk on the phone while driving anymore.
I drive a tiny car (Miata) and I am almost killed on a daily basis by people whose vehicles are so large that they can't see me, and by people who are yakking away on their phones.
I hate them.
If I shoot pictures from my car, like Duane, I point the camera towards what I am shooting and don't review what I've caught until I've stopped the car.
"HANG UP AND DRIVE, MUTHAF*CKER!"
elston (85 months ago | reply)
I have an awful lot of pet peeves about other drivers... lack of turn signals, running stop signs, speeding through residential neighborhoods.
Sometimes I believe the true nature of a person lies in the way they drive, and that doesn't fill me with a lot of hope.
But yeah, in recent years, if I see someone do something really stupid, it seems 9 times out of 10 they're talking on a cell phone.
RichardLowkes (85 months ago | reply)
even if it's not illegal i would expect it would be universally frowned upon. as some have said it's illegal here in the uk but even before then it was widely condemned. legal or not i'd never do it
Newell the Jewell [deleted] (85 months ago | reply)
thank you for sharing this. the drivers actions seem odd. who in their right-mind would drive around a schoolbus with flashing lights.
cannot begin to tell you the countless times i've noticed drivers talking on phones and driving. ny state even has a law regarding this practice, though no one seems to care.
TheSteffers (85 months ago | reply)
This is why I refuse to have a cell phone. The distraction is just too dangerous.
And if you saw the lines at the payphones on 9/11 because the cellphones weren't working...
MrTopf added this photo to his favorites. (85 months ago)
GoodKarmaHippieMagic (85 months ago | reply)
yes terrible. Here's it's against the law to hold a mobile in your hand and drive.
btw: a fab close-up!!
annappleaday (85 months ago | reply)
again... good works in every category duane *******
small fry (85 months ago | reply)
I don't drive and have spent years commuting by bike and train. I have been astonished (and nearly wiped out) by the awesome stupidity of motorists on a number of occasions. Ironically, my last rant at a driver was one who overtook me then abruptly stopped to take a mobile call, then waited till I was overtaking to start again. I was two foot from her window, parallel with her face and shouting like hell. She still didn't notice. Then she did it again.
To be honest, it isn't just phones. It's the familiarity people feel for their cars. Their own little private bubble hurtling around the roads.
BTW, why is it only men pick their noses while driving?
myalias (85 months ago | reply)
There was a girl in my city last year babysitting a young boy. The parents gave her the 'ok' to drive their Hummer (so she'd be safe). She ran a red light - plowed into a Suburban and killed a child sitting in the backseat. She was also on a cellphone. So sad.
dearoot (85 months ago | reply)
Beautiful shot. Love the way you turn the mundane into something extraordinary.
Crfullmoon (85 months ago | reply)
Hang up and drive.
That person will never be able to do anything to make up for the loss of a 5 year old.
She should never drive again; why should we risk lives thinking she'll change her bad habits?
Research has shown are you more distracted talking on a cell phone than with a passenger;
I have no qualms about dropping a conversation with a passenger when I'm driving; and they can see the road as well, and won't start asking, "Are you there? Hello?"
I am always worried when people phone me while driving;
wouldn't want them to get in a crash.
Police don't even enforce the speeding laws here, unfortunately!
(I mean, not regularly enough that people are afraid to speed; only to meet a ticket quota or perhaps for DWB. When the average traffic flow is 20+ mph over the posted limits, on a road with cross streets and traffic lights, something isn't right.
Too many people have their phones up to their heads, entering traffic, taking turns, changing lanes without signals. Wish there was a law, and it was enforced.
Today is a good day (85 months ago | reply)
We have a simple rule at work (and outside of work too).
"ENGINE ON - PHONE OFF"
That goes for hands free too.
JourneyToNoWhere (85 months ago | reply)
malaysia the country im living has imposed ban quite long time ago.
something interesting about cell phone while driving
cellular-news.com/car_bans/
Vida Morkunas (seawallrunner) (85 months ago | reply)
love the yellow wash over the phone.
caution!
I can't drive and yak on the cell - too many distractions. The only think I do with my cell phone while driving is recharge the phone.
Looks like the recharger for the car does a quicker job than the recharger at home.
stefan0 (85 months ago | reply)
totally like the color tones on this one -- :)
Superchou (85 months ago | reply)
jesus.. that is some story..
patisfaction ~ censored [deleted] (85 months ago | reply)
gr8 macro
accompanying this awful story
it's prohibited 2 call without a headset / handsfree here in holland
mark daniel added this photo to his favorites. (85 months ago)
mark daniel (85 months ago | reply)
incredible shot duane. great colors and framing.
a very similar accident occurred in orlando, several days before i was visiting a friend for a few days back in november. the driver was also a young woman in her 20s. and the saddest part of the story was that the victim was a young mother and her two children.
the government needs to take action. there needs to be a federal law banning cell phone usage while driving, and ensure that this is applied and enforced from coast to coast. i simply refuse to answer calls while driving, and most of my friends know and understand this. i don't see why people can't set boundaries for themselves.
selva (85 months ago | reply)
It's illegal now in Illinois to drive while talking on a cell phone (at least, wthout a handsfree kit). *just* went into effect.
Fillllll (85 months ago | reply)
love the colors
Anas Bukhash (nascity) (84 months ago | reply)
Wow...sad story...its really good that you are sending concious messages through your photos...
Here in Dubai...holding a cell-phone directly to your ears is illegal while driving...therfore most people nowadays are using headsets and speaker phones...which is so much better and safer...hopefully this will increase even more here and all around the globe...since it can save many lives...including ours...
By the way, great close-up shot...
arvind k (79 months ago | reply)
Oh boy I think there is no one who loaths cell phone as much I do. Everytime I see someone talking on cellphone and driving, I cringe.
I can't even stand doofus cellphone addicts walking on the sidewalk telling every single detail of their mundane lives.
hollikline (76 months ago | reply)
Angie Dipman is a close friend of mine and while she was involved in an accident, it was exactly that, an accident. the media blew this case up and therefore made Angie out to look like a bad person. This could have happened to anyone. that is why it is called an accident. We are in the process of trying to get a law passed here in Ohio to ban the use of cell phones while driving due to this and other accidents involving cell phones. And just for the record, she wasnt talking on her cell phone while driving, she had reached over to retrieve her cell phone because it was ringing.
Crfullmoon (76 months ago | reply)
It could not have happened to anyone that
stops instead of driving past a school bus with its lights flashing.
Nor to anyone that does not use a cell phone until
they find a safe place to pull over.
(How many times can people get their license suspended before
they lose driving privileges permanently? Driving a car is not a right.)
l_youlia, lynetter, sarahpolk, chriscoyier, and 2 other people added this photo to their favorites.