BlackBerry takes a man’s life
by The PocketBerry Team
Michael Edward Wolsynuk got into his pickup truck, getting ready to drive home. At 3:57PM he was north of the Town and Country Shopping Centre on the Trans-Canada Highway, Wolsynuk lost control of his northbound vehicle. He crossed into the path of an oncoming truck. In the resulting crash, he was thrown across the passenger compartment, suffering massive head and neck injuries. He was rushed to the intensive care unit at Victoria General Hospital, but died of his injuries six days later.
So here are the facts:
- The road was wet, with rain falling. Standing water on the curve increased the risk of hydroplaning.
- Wolsynuk’s truck had significantly worn rear tires and there was no additional weight on the rear axles beyond the vehicle weight. The tires made it more likely that the vehicle would spin, and the lack of weight reduced the chance that Wolsynuk would have been able to regain control.
- Wolsynuk was not wearing a seatbelt, which meant he was tossed across the cab in the crash. His massive injuries were the result.
- He was communicating with a BlackBerry device just before the crash. That meant his attention was not on the road or the traffic around him.
If only one or two of those risk factors were present, the accident might have been avoided — for example, better tires could have compensated for the water on the road. Or wearing a seatbelt might have saved his life. But all together, the risks became a fatal combination. Wolsynuk’s BlackBerry represents one of the newer forms of driver distraction, and it’s one that is causing more and more problems. Telecommunications devices such as cell phones and BlackBerrys take the driver’s mind and eyes away from the road. Don’t think that using a cell phone or a BlackBerry affects your driving ability?
Drive carefully, and don’t use your BlackBerry when you drive. Be safe folks!
Source: Times Colonist
-by Mac Jadalhack
