Published: August 19, 2007 12:08 am            

Crash victim’s mother: Hang up or pay up

By Jaclyn Houghton

CNHI News Service

YUKON — Telling people to hang up or pay up is not how Gina Harris envisioned her life.

“This is not how I planned on making noise in my life. I planned on helping people at Wal-Mart buy tires, but if it makes a difference it’s going to be worth it,” said Harris, 40.

The Yukon woman began making noise a few months ago in hopes of the Oklahoma Legislature passing a bill to ban cell phone use while driving. Her 19-year-old daughter, Brittanie Montgomery, died in a traffic accident in December while talking on her cell phone. She was a Honeybee dancer for the Hornets NBA basketball team and attended the University of Central Oklahoma. She had hopes of becoming a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader and working with abused children.

Harris has joined forces with Rep. Paul Wesselhoft, R-Moore, to move forward on a bill in the upcoming legislative session — which begins in February — to address cell phone use while driving.

The Brittanie Montgomery Act would not ban cell phone use in the car but would lead to a mandatory $1,000 fine and 20 days in jail if an auto accident is caused by cell phone use, whether talking or text messaging. Also, there would be a $1,000 fine for bus drivers using cell phones while driving and individuals with learner’s permits would face a $500 fine if caught using a cell phone.

Here is what Harris had to say about the accident that took her daughter’s life and cell phone use while driving.

Q: Explain the events surrounding your daughter’s death and her conversation when the crash happened.

A: A day or two after the accident, “I finally had a talk with a friend (of Montgomery) and they (he and Montgomery) were talking and she was ranting. Brittanie ranting could sometimes be so funny because she was so tiny and her voice was squeakier than mine. He said they were going on about college and what she wanted to do, (how she) is ticked off at the Honeybees … They’d had conversations in the past where she’d just say bye, click, gone and he said they were talking and then all of a sudden she was just gone. That was it and that’s right when her wreck happened … She had been told so many times not to talk on her cell phone while she’s driving.”

Q: What did you tell her about talking on her cell phone and why?

A: “It’s a distraction. I’ve always been the type that you don’t put your make-up on while you’re driving. We saw someone reading a book yesterday … We’ve always been big on being aware of your surroundings, always watch for kids, your hands are on the wheel, and we were always just taught do not use your cell phone while driving … At 19, granted you can parent some, but they have to start taking responsibility for their actions. That’s hard to say. Her choice cost her her life and potentially five others. There were a total of five people, including an unborn baby in that other car and they’re all OK.”

Q: Have you ever talked on the cell phone while driving?

A: “Yes, I have. I’m very guilty of it. Do I now? No way. I do have a Bluetooth. If my Bluetooth’s not in I flat out refuse to answer my phone.”

Q: There are penalties with speeding and people still speed. If there were penalties associated with using a cell phone while driving, would it stop the behavior?

A: “Most people in the world are good. We hear more about the negative on the news, but most people in this world don’t wake up with the intent to cause malice or to intentionally hurt somebody. Most of us don’t want to go to jail and with my daughter, if there had been something out there that said ‘hey, if you do this you’ll get a ticket or you’ll go to jail and be out lots of money,’ she wouldn’t have done it. I sure wouldn’t do it and most of the people I know wouldn’t do it. Like the seatbelt law, I remember when that law went in, people bucked it so bad and everybody complained and everybody griped … but you don’t hear the argument anymore.”

Q: If a law goes into effect dealing with cell phone use while driving, what about the people who put make-up on in the car or read in the car?

A: “None of it should be done … There’s already a law there that deals with distractions in cars and having attention. I think they need to buckle down and start doing something. The law’s there for us to use, why aren’t we enforcing it? … If you take the number of officers and highway patrolmen … and then you take the community, that’s a pretty big ratio. You have one officer to thousands of people. They’re not going to catch everybody.”

        

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