The topic of this article is "Driven to Distraction- Britain Sets Tough New Laws for Texting While Driving". As you can imagine by simply reading the title of the article, this article describes a recent death in Britain, and the means of punishment that are being taken as a result.
Recently, a 24 year old woman was stopped on the side of the road after her car had suddenly broken down. Momentarily parked on the shoulder lane, the rear end of her vehicle was slammed into by another automobile, this one driven by a 22 year old woman. As stated in the article, many times this would be seen as a tragic accident and would be dismissed with a few sad shakes of the head and another tragic funeral. However, nowadays in Britain, accidents are examined and inspected in a more detailed way. The young woman whose vehicle was used as a homocidal weapon... well... she was carrying a cell-phone... and that cell phone had a recent history of a dozen or so text messages, the most recent coming in (but never opened) seconds before the crash. Before.. a few sad head nods. Now.. 21 months in maximum security prison.
According to The New York Times, the British government regard "prolonged texting as a serious aggravating factor in “death by dangerous driving” — just like drinking — and generally recommend four to seven years in prison". Texting while driving is attacked fiercely in Britain, and is seen not as bad judgement but as a heinous crime. It is appropriately placed on the same level of drinking and driving, driving while high on drugs, or racing another vehicle.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/02/technology/02texting.html?pagewanted=2&_r=2&ref=technology
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