Post by title1parent on Jul 18, 2011 5:43:23 GMT -5
Roadside memorial program launches with sign honoring local 5-year-old
By Susan Frick Carlman
napervillesun
scarlman@stmedianetwork.com
Last Modified: Jul 17, 2011 02:45AM
Thursday was Adam Miller’s birthday. His mom, Cheryl, commemorated the occasion by picking up a bundle of helium balloons. She affixed them to a tree near Builta Elementary School, the District 204 campus in Bolingbrook that Adam attended.
Adam wasn’t there. The little boy — known for his ebullient nature; his love of trains, exceeded only by his love for his baby brother; his habit of walking on tip-toes because he was too excited to keep his feet flat on the ground — died in November 2008. He was buckled securely in the back seat of his family’s disabled car when it was rear-ended by a driver who had glanced away for a moment on Plainfield-Naperville Road. Police concluded the impact was made with no braking, at 55 mph.
On what would have been his first day as an 8-year-old, Adam’s mom and dad, John, and their son Eli, 4, gathered with local elected officials, friends and fellow activists at Naperville’s Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve, not far from the collision site. The event was held to unveil the first of what likely will be too many roadside markers honoring the memory of people who have died as a result of distracted driving.
DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin was among several to point out that cars today are about more than getting from place to place.
“I can think of no greater tragedy than losing a child,” said Cronin, a father of four, commending the Millers’ resolve to enact change even as they mourned. “I think we’ve become a culture where we’re very, very comfortable in our cars.”
Accidental activist
The roadside signs represent progress in the crusade to convince drivers to give their full attention to the road. Cheryl Miller unwittingly joined the endeavor not long after Adam died.
When Joseph Cox, the driver of the car that slammed into the Millers’ vehicle, was sentenced six months after the crash, there were no legal restrictions on driving while distracted. He was ticketed for speeding and failing to read the conditions of the road to avoid an accident, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months.
Livid, the Millers implored DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett to impose a penalty reflecting that Cox had taken a life. They received empathy from the prosecutor, but his hands were tied.
“I appreciate and understand your frustration at the fact that Mr. Cox is facing only petty traffic offenses,” Birkett wrote in response to their letter. “Illinois does not have a negligent homicide statute like many other states have.”
At first, Cheryl said, their search for organizational support was futile. She reached out to the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.
“I begged them. I said, ‘You don’t understand. I have nowhere else to go,” she said.
Common purpose
Pat Larson, longtime Illinois director of victim services for AAIM, has worked for decades with those affected by drunk drivers. She quickly recognized that her organization and Miller shared the same goal: making the road safer.
“It’s so easy to say, ‘Oh, we only do drunk driving,’” Larson said. “We came out of our comfort zone and helped her, because she was hurting.”
With help from AAIM and the anti-distracted driving Crash Coalition, the Millers pushed hard for changes in the law. Text-messaging while driving and using hand-held phones while driving in construction zones and school zones became illegal statewide in January 2010.
“Cheryl was as persistent as anyone could be in pushing us in Springfield,” said state Rep. Tom Cross (R-Oswego), the House minority leader.
Cross said he often runs or rides his bike alongside roads, and is startled when a vehicle seems to be veering his way. Then he realizes the driver is looking down at a cell phone or other distraction. He acknowledges the challenge of changing behavior.
“There are always still going to be people doing it,” he said.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) echoed the observation that automobiles now come equipped with navigational equipment, audio systems and other gadgets that tempt drivers to do too many things besides just drive.
“What we’re really not doing is understanding that we are operating a powerful piece of machinery,” Holmes said.
Miles yet to go
The Millers are relieved that their efforts have begun to pay off. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“Drunk driving 25 years ago was where we are now,” Miller said. “It was sort of a shrug your shoulders, ‘what can you do?’”
Among the penalties for accidents caused by drunk drivers now are victim impact statements and other measures commensurate with the gravity of the offense. When distracted driving becomes a legal term, the consequences will be more appropriate, Miller said.
She said Cox has never spoken to her, but she doesn’t think he intended to hurt anyone.
“We’ll never know exactly the whole (story). One thing we know for sure is a life was taken,” she said. “My son was not viewed as a victim. I was not allowed to speak on his behalf, and that’s where I drew my energy.”
Despite the new laws and public information campaigns, she said many people still are unfamiliar with the regulations governing distracting driving. It’s not widely known, for example, that drivers under age 19 are forbidden from using phones. Miller said it’s good that awareness has been heightened, but it will take a little of a lot of things to effect enduring behavior change: a few more laws, perhaps some close calls and sadly, some more tragedies.
“People have to be more conscious of the decisions that they’re making, and that they can be deadly,” she said. “It seems there’s more ‘I don’t have time for this. I’ll do it in the car.’”
Love and validation
Miller is glad that when local officials told her to call her representatives, she did that. And it worked.
“Everyone on the road is someone’s child,” she said. “Don’t be a distracted driver — for the love of Adam.”
She said she is trying to channel her energy into positive things now.
“There’s still anger and frustration,” she said. “But there’s also validation, acknowledgment, all these things that help.”
Having Eli is a big one of those things; he was especially precious to his older brother. John Miller related that when Adam blew out the candles on his fifth birthday, his parents asked what he wished for.
“He said (he wished) that Eli would always be his brother,” Adam’s dad said.
By Susan Frick Carlman
napervillesun
scarlman@stmedianetwork.com
Last Modified: Jul 17, 2011 02:45AM
Thursday was Adam Miller’s birthday. His mom, Cheryl, commemorated the occasion by picking up a bundle of helium balloons. She affixed them to a tree near Builta Elementary School, the District 204 campus in Bolingbrook that Adam attended.
Adam wasn’t there. The little boy — known for his ebullient nature; his love of trains, exceeded only by his love for his baby brother; his habit of walking on tip-toes because he was too excited to keep his feet flat on the ground — died in November 2008. He was buckled securely in the back seat of his family’s disabled car when it was rear-ended by a driver who had glanced away for a moment on Plainfield-Naperville Road. Police concluded the impact was made with no braking, at 55 mph.
On what would have been his first day as an 8-year-old, Adam’s mom and dad, John, and their son Eli, 4, gathered with local elected officials, friends and fellow activists at Naperville’s Springbrook Prairie Forest Preserve, not far from the collision site. The event was held to unveil the first of what likely will be too many roadside markers honoring the memory of people who have died as a result of distracted driving.
DuPage County Chairman Dan Cronin was among several to point out that cars today are about more than getting from place to place.
“I can think of no greater tragedy than losing a child,” said Cronin, a father of four, commending the Millers’ resolve to enact change even as they mourned. “I think we’ve become a culture where we’re very, very comfortable in our cars.”
Accidental activist
The roadside signs represent progress in the crusade to convince drivers to give their full attention to the road. Cheryl Miller unwittingly joined the endeavor not long after Adam died.
When Joseph Cox, the driver of the car that slammed into the Millers’ vehicle, was sentenced six months after the crash, there were no legal restrictions on driving while distracted. He was ticketed for speeding and failing to read the conditions of the road to avoid an accident, and his driver’s license was suspended for six months.
Livid, the Millers implored DuPage County State’s Attorney Joe Birkett to impose a penalty reflecting that Cox had taken a life. They received empathy from the prosecutor, but his hands were tied.
“I appreciate and understand your frustration at the fact that Mr. Cox is facing only petty traffic offenses,” Birkett wrote in response to their letter. “Illinois does not have a negligent homicide statute like many other states have.”
At first, Cheryl said, their search for organizational support was futile. She reached out to the Alliance Against Intoxicated Motorists.
“I begged them. I said, ‘You don’t understand. I have nowhere else to go,” she said.
Common purpose
Pat Larson, longtime Illinois director of victim services for AAIM, has worked for decades with those affected by drunk drivers. She quickly recognized that her organization and Miller shared the same goal: making the road safer.
“It’s so easy to say, ‘Oh, we only do drunk driving,’” Larson said. “We came out of our comfort zone and helped her, because she was hurting.”
With help from AAIM and the anti-distracted driving Crash Coalition, the Millers pushed hard for changes in the law. Text-messaging while driving and using hand-held phones while driving in construction zones and school zones became illegal statewide in January 2010.
“Cheryl was as persistent as anyone could be in pushing us in Springfield,” said state Rep. Tom Cross (R-Oswego), the House minority leader.
Cross said he often runs or rides his bike alongside roads, and is startled when a vehicle seems to be veering his way. Then he realizes the driver is looking down at a cell phone or other distraction. He acknowledges the challenge of changing behavior.
“There are always still going to be people doing it,” he said.
State Sen. Linda Holmes (D-Aurora) echoed the observation that automobiles now come equipped with navigational equipment, audio systems and other gadgets that tempt drivers to do too many things besides just drive.
“What we’re really not doing is understanding that we are operating a powerful piece of machinery,” Holmes said.
Miles yet to go
The Millers are relieved that their efforts have begun to pay off. But there’s still plenty of room for improvement.
“Drunk driving 25 years ago was where we are now,” Miller said. “It was sort of a shrug your shoulders, ‘what can you do?’”
Among the penalties for accidents caused by drunk drivers now are victim impact statements and other measures commensurate with the gravity of the offense. When distracted driving becomes a legal term, the consequences will be more appropriate, Miller said.
She said Cox has never spoken to her, but she doesn’t think he intended to hurt anyone.
“We’ll never know exactly the whole (story). One thing we know for sure is a life was taken,” she said. “My son was not viewed as a victim. I was not allowed to speak on his behalf, and that’s where I drew my energy.”
Despite the new laws and public information campaigns, she said many people still are unfamiliar with the regulations governing distracting driving. It’s not widely known, for example, that drivers under age 19 are forbidden from using phones. Miller said it’s good that awareness has been heightened, but it will take a little of a lot of things to effect enduring behavior change: a few more laws, perhaps some close calls and sadly, some more tragedies.
“People have to be more conscious of the decisions that they’re making, and that they can be deadly,” she said. “It seems there’s more ‘I don’t have time for this. I’ll do it in the car.’”
Love and validation
Miller is glad that when local officials told her to call her representatives, she did that. And it worked.
“Everyone on the road is someone’s child,” she said. “Don’t be a distracted driver — for the love of Adam.”
She said she is trying to channel her energy into positive things now.
“There’s still anger and frustration,” she said. “But there’s also validation, acknowledgment, all these things that help.”
Having Eli is a big one of those things; he was especially precious to his older brother. John Miller related that when Adam blew out the candles on his fifth birthday, his parents asked what he wished for.
“He said (he wished) that Eli would always be his brother,” Adam’s dad said.