Turn Tragedy into Action by Advocating for Safer Roads

Michelle Avola
Ex Director of NPC

I was heartbroken when I received a call last year from one of our supporters, Mary Campeau, who shared that her husband Ron, an avid cyclist, was killed by a distracted driver in Naples. She and Ron had spent season in Naples for years. They shared a love of travel, hiking and biking.

When visiting Naples, Ron had a goal to bike the distance between Naple sand his home in Canada during each visit. To help get those miles in, he often attended our fundraiser rides. He met that goal every year until someone too engrossed in their phone to pay attention to the road took his life and changed Mary’s forever.

That reckless driver didn’t hear surrounding cars blaring their horns as their drivers could see the deadly trajectory of the vehicle that ran over this beloved father, husband, grandfather, and friend to so many. Mary was appalled to realize how useless Florida’s distracted driving laws are, especially compared to those in Canada and the other states and countries where they traveled for their hiking and biking adventures. (Although texting while driving is a primary offense here, and hands-free cell phone use is legally required in school and construction zones, loopholes make these laws virtually unenforceable.)

Because Ron participated in several of our fundraising events, Mary and Ron were familiar with our mission to improve safety for people who walk, bike, and run. During our call, I shared with Mary about our work to end distracted driving through our Hands-Free Florida campaign. She asked me to attend the sentencing of the distracted driver.

We were infuriated that the man who killed Ron would only pay a $1,000 fine. Although no fine or prison sentence would bring him back, this minimal penalty was the ultimate insult to his devastated family.

In Canada, driving while distracted and causing a fatality can result in dangerous driving charges, which are a criminal offense and carry harsh penalties: up to 14 years in jail, fines up to $50,000, and license suspension of up to five years.

“Ron’s case was dealt within traffic court. The phone was never confiscated and thus no reason was ever found for what happened,” said Mary. “I don’t feel we got any kind of justice. We have to live the rest of our lives without Ron.”

Mary believes with stricter laws for distracted driving, more awareness about how best to share the road, and safer pathways, tragedies like Ron’s can be prevented. With more severe penalties like those in Canada, who would even think about picking up their phones behind the wheel?

Since Ron’s untimely passing, Naples Pathways has been tirelessly advocating for hands-free cell phone legislation and educating all road users about the dangers of distracted driving through our statewide Hands-Free Florida coalition and campaign.

With my testimony and that of other supporters in the 2024 legislative session, House Bill 1469 passed unanimously in three committees. Unfortunately, the chair of the Senate Transportation Committee blocked the hearing of Senate Bill 1664, which killed what could have become a lifesaving law.

There are 31 other states that prohibit hand-held device usage while driving, providing an average drop in crashes and fatalities of 15% within months. Ohio passed this legislation in 2023, and there were 25% fewer road fatalities in the six months that followed. Yet in Florida, from 2020 to 2023, there was an almost 18% increase in phone interaction behind the wheel.

Drivers are 23 times more likely to be in a crash just from holding their phone while driving. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), phone interaction while driving is six times more dangerous than driving under the influence of alcohol, which became illegal in 1986.

The NHTSA also states that road crashes cost the US economy approximately $340 billion every year. Our auto insurance rates clearly reflect that. With the partnership of Florida Bicycle Association, the Kiefer Foundation, StopDistractions.org, Bike Law, Naples Velo, Florida Share the Road Coalition and others across the state, Naples Pathways will continue to advocate for safer roads in 2025.

Let your voice be heard. Contact your local legislators to ask them to push for hands-free cell phone use legislation. For a list of email addresses and phone numbers for all Florida representatives visit www.flhouse.gov/representatives and www.flsenate.gov/Senators

Become part of the solution. You can support our work by making a donation at www.NaplesPathways.org/Donate and sign the hands-free device usage petition at www.HandsFreeFlorida.org

When you are driving, please put down your phone and focus on the road. Sending a text, checking the weather, scrolling social media, reading an email, and everything else we do on our phones can wait.

Nothing is worth taking someone’s life–or losing your own.

by Michelle Avola-Brown, Executive Director, Naples Pathways Coalition

For more information, please visit www.NaplesPathways.org and www.HandsFreeFlorida.org If you have any specific questions, email me at Michelle@NaplesPathways.org