Anti-Texting Thumb Rings Honor Late Amherst Fire Chief

The Amherst Junior Women's Club, encouraged by the widow of a man killed by a distracted driver, has funded an effort to discourage distracted driving among newly licensed drivers.

The non-profit club says it has purchased anti-texting thumb rings at the suggestion of Marilyn Bachman, the widow of retired Amherst Fire Chief John Bachman.

Bachman was killed in December by a 20-year-old driver who police believe was distracted by his cell phone.

"Our club wanted to honor the memory of her husband," said Christina Zlotnick of the Amherst Junior Women’s Club, in a press release.

Mrs. Bachman hopes all drivers, not just young drivers, will make it a point to be more focused on the road, according to the Amherst Junior Women's Club.

School Resource Officer John Smith works at Souhegan High School and will distribute the red silicone rings to teenagers nearing the end of their driving training. He is given two hours at the end of the course to educate new drivers about laws, current events and procedures they should follow when stopped by police.

Smith says the top three distractions for young drivers are "too many kids in the car, texting and inexperience."

He tells teenagers that the effects of texting while driving are equal to drunk driving. He also cautions young drivers who have an inflated sense of confidence with respect to the use of mobile devices.

"Kids are getting cell phones earlier," Smith said in the press release. "They believe they’re proficient by the time they start driving, and they don’t believe it will impede their driving ability."

It’s illegal to text while driving in New Hampshire, but Officer Smith says it’s a difficult law to enforce because drivers can usually claim they were making a phone call when questioned by police. 

The New Hampshire Legislature passed a bill this spring, the "Distracted Driver Law," which would ban hand-held cellphone use while driving.

Gov. Maggie Hassan is expected to sign the bill into law.

In response to Bachman’s death, the Amherst Fire Department created an online pledge to encourage drivers not to text and drive.