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paigns and laws do have a deterrent effect on behaviors, such as drunken driving, that endanger other drivers.
• According to the South Dakota Department of Public Safety, 49 people died in alcohol-related motor vehicle accidents in 2010; in 2004, 78 people died in alcohol-related auto crashes. The trend has been toward fewer alcohol-related fatalities while drunken driving laws have been stiffened and the public is increasingly aware of the dangers of driving after drinking.
• According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, drivers using a cellphone or texting while driving are 23 times more likely to be in an accident than

drivers who are not distracted.
• We agree with the teens at Kids Speak that South Dakota needs to pass a distracted driving law.
• -- Such a law would give law enforcement officers a tool to ticket drivers for driving while distracted by a handheld device or other distraction or cite them if they cause an accident.
• -- Parents could use the passage of a

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