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Coloradans Discuss Driving & Phone Danger On Oprah

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Jan 18, 2010 6:45 pm US/Mountain

Coloradans Discuss Driving & Phone Danger On Oprah

Reporting
Mike Hooker
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (CBS4) ― A Fort Collins couple has teamed up with Oprah Winfrey in an effort to encourage people to put down the phone while we're driving. Erica Forney, 9, died after being hit by an SUV in November 2008. Police believe the driver was distracted by her cell phone at the time of the accident.

Her parents -- Shelley and Daren Forney -- appeared on Monday's Oprah Winfrey Show in the first segment of what was a whole hour devoted to the issue.

Shelley Forney said she was thrilled that Oprah took up her cause because Oprah definitely knows how to attract attention and get things done.

"Oprah, it's just, she's amazing and she reaches so many people even beyond the U.S. and this is a worldwide problem. It's not just here," Shelley told CBS4.

Shelley told CBS4's Mike Hooker that she hopes being on Oprah went a long way toward avoiding more tragedies and, hopefully, changing laws. A new Colorado law this year bans texting while driving.

"If you're talking on the phone you're four times more likely to get into an accident. If you are texting while you drive you're eight times more likely," Winfrey said on the program.

"Your car is not your phone booth," Shelley said on the program. "Your car is a place to get from A to B and that is it. Your focus should be that and that alone.

"You've got precious cargo in that car -- your life, your children's lives. They are not worth a phone call, a text, an e-mail is not worth it."

Shelly said she hopes Oprah will continue to call for drivers to put down their phones and lawmakers to pass more cell phone driving laws.

"What really needs to happen, I strongly believe, is the laws need to change to keep us all in check," Oprah said.

"She is so genuine and heartfelt and she is behind this and she wants to make a difference," Shelley said.

On the show the Forneys and Oprah urged people to make a pledge to put down the phone saying, "Don't tempt fate, that text can wait."

Shelley said being on Oprah was her biggest chance yet to have Erica's death make a difference.

"Nothing will ever take away the pain that we deal with, and the loss, but I hope that she's smiling up in Heaven knowing that were trying real hard to get our message out there," she said.

The Forneys are now helping lead an organization called Focus Driven, which aims to set up chapters across the country to change laws and to educate people about the dangers of calling and texting while driving; and to support the families of victims of tragedies like the one which happened to Erica.

(© MMX CBS Television Stations, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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