Letter to the editor

Posted

In the Feb. 23 edition of the Ponte Vedra Recorder there was a story about how Wayne Hogan, a personal injury attorney at Terrill Hogan Law office, told a group of local business professionals to implement policies that prohibit employees from using cell phones or other forms of distraction while driving. He said in a business with personnel driving, that they can have vicarious liability.

He takes this so seriously his firm created the Terrell Hogan Law Distracted Driving Awareness Campaign. The article goes on about a company’s possible liability If an employee got involved. Great story, you should all read it.

However, what I find so interesting is how in St. John County, the county commissioners are considering approving huge, 600-foot, digital LED light billboards that change every eight seconds. These are to be placed on I-95 in St. Johns County. That stretch of road has been documented as the most dangerous stretch of highway in the United States.

I read that, and then read Mr. Hogan’s remarks about who could be held liable when using cell phones in an accident. Combine the two and you have a recipe for class A disaster. Add in a teenager with friends in the car, chatting on the phone and listening to the radio. Lordy, you see that you had better scoot over to US 1.

I wonder, Mr. Hogan, if elected officials have been informed about the distraction, and furthermore on this most dangerous stretch of highway, who all would be held liable.

Bet you could never pin it on the billboard companies.

Mary F. Kohnke

Ponte Vedra Beach