British teen imprisoned for texting-related death

It goes without saying that talking whilst driving (let alone texting) isn't exactly the safest practice, and unfortunately for a British teenager, she could have four solid years to think about it. Rachel Begg, who was found to have used her cellphone nine different times in the 15 minutes prior to crashing into a grandmother's vehicle and subsequently killing her, was recently found guilty and sentenced to four years in prison. To make matters worse, Begg was driving nearly 70 miles-per-hour on a dark, rainy night, and the judge reportedly emphasized how costly her lack of reason was. Better leave the texting 'til after the ride's over, eh?

[Via Textually, image courtesy of BrockportStylus]

[adam @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:21PM]

ive tried texting while driving before, and i once started coming off the road. Needless to say, it scared the shit out of me and i refuse to text and keep cell phone use to a minimum while i am driving.

[kingofwale @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:21PM]

only 4 years for killing someone? That's really not hard enough.

9 different cellphone calls/texts in 15 minutes, Let's see what she will do with 1 call per day in Jail. Have fun.

[mastershake916 @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:33AM]

Well, in the US, you get either a fine or nothing.
A girl killed a cyclist while writing a text-message, and the prosecutor said that it couldn't be proved "negligent".

[Anand @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:47AM]

My bet is that she's not gonna spend all 4 years in jail. Sentence is probably gonna be reduced.

[Dave @ Jul 23rd 2007 8:13AM]

50% reducion for good behaviour, - any time she has been on remand..

Likely she will be out in 18 months.

18 months for manslaughter is disgusting... the UK legal system is a total mess. I would get MORE prison sentance for filming a movie on my camcorder in the cinema, than taking a human life.. How does than work??

[loci @ Jul 23rd 2007 11:53AM]

yes, justice in uk is a joke.
costs too much to keep them prisoned apparently.
uk goverment prefer to spend the cash on surveillance cameras so they can sell the footage of the criminals to tv stations.

only paedophile killers get serious prison terms these days

[David @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:25PM]

I wonder when she'll be up for parole.. I doubt she'll even serve the 4 years. She wasn't even a minor.. wow I think she needs to get A LOT longer sentence.

[Dan @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:30PM]

HA! Try picking a song on a Cowon D2 while driving. I was half way into the turning lane by the time I found Supertramp.

[Neebs @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:39AM]

Music selection - The Crime of the Century.

[MrFuNKy76 @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:37PM]

Should be more than 4 years. I've seen more and more people talking AND texting on phones, I can't even count the number of times I've almost had someone crash into me because they are talking or texting, it's out of hand. The laws against cell phone use while driving in my state is a total joke.

These people need to wake the F up and pay attention to the road!! The penalties should be much more severe, IMO in many cases it's just as bad as driving drunk.

[morcheeba @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:03AM]

Feel free to use your horn. They'll look up confused, then go back to talking. Then I'll honk again, they'll look up again. Eventually they run off the road and their car bursts in to a big ball of flame.

[Sy @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:40PM]

Multitasking is fine and dandy on the desktop but leave it out while driving please. Lives are at stake.

[kingofwale @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:40PM]

if she only lives in US. then she could blame IPhone for it's impossibly-to-type-on without-looking keyboard and its lack of voice diaing. :)

[Brad @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:49AM]

HAHAHA! You are so right! Isn't the fact that she killed a senior citizen hilarious! Please do make another dumbass joke. They are quite appropriate! hahahaha.
jackass

[RijilV @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:43PM]

I dunno, what about the people reading the newspaper while driving? Very few things scared me more when passing someone on the freeway doing 75mhp and looking over to see them reading the daily...

[robert.stewart2 @ Jul 22nd 2007 11:49PM]

one letter at a time people.... its totally doable if your smart about it...

[dave @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:55AM]

darwin will catch up with you... i hope.

[Ryhan @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:00AM]

Has no one heard of something called hands-free calling? Jeesh, speaking to someone is so much more convinient than texting, plus its cheaper and more accurate.

And yes, 4 years is waaaaaay to little time; however, I think she has already learned her lesson.

[Matt @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:37AM]

Texting is far more convenient (the receiver doesn't have to be there), and in Britain its mostly cheaper. That said, no one should be texting, talking on their phone or messing around with their GPS whilst driving.

[Chris @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:40PM]

All the recent studies have shown that it's not the holding of the phone to your face that hurts your driving ability. It's the distraction that talking on the phone causes that is dangerous.

[saq @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:06AM]

4 years would be enough time only IF.
She had to clean the yard of her victims parents/windowers house every week, while wearing a big red jumpsuit and carrying around a sign that said I KILLED THIS PERSONS DRIVING AND TEXTING.

[domochan @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:44AM]

omg, lighten up. yes, she killed someone, but lets face it, you've reaped a good long life at that age. The person driving was a teenage girl, and to stereotype a little, she was probably a twit. I have nothing against teenage twits, in fact, as long as they're hot it complements their image. The problem with this scenario is that, while doing something that lacked minimal reason, I'd bet a body organ that each one of us have done something equally devoid of common sense where lives could have been at steak and its just our stroke of luck that the worst case didn't happen and we (you) didnt go to jail. so get off your high horse about the sentence before judging someone else. 4 years is a damn long time in prison and shes just a kid. I also doubt she'll leave prison a better person, but the person she killed had it better off... this girls life is over now, and i doubt it will improve much after she gets out!

[nyuhsuk @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:10AM]

Tell that to the family of the granny... According to you, when my gramps was hit and run, I should of been telling myself "He's in a better place now~" and sing praises about the anonymous driver learning a lesson? Acquired lesson or not, a fokkin' person died due to someone's idiocy.

You too are a friggin' idiot.

[Ally @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:16AM]

your kidding right? your actually condoning murder? :/

jezze

[LC @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:51AM]

Domochan you base the value of ones life on their age? Dumbass.

This girl was no different than a drunk driver. She operated a motor vehicle while typing on a phone and killed someone. 4 years is light. If there was true justice this twit would have missed the woman and died herself preventing her from having offspring with the same stupid gene that allowed her to think that keeping her eyes on the road was optional.

[crazyclam @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:39AM]

We need laws and police officers that actually fine people who talk on the phone while driving. Especially those driving big SUV on the freeway AND talking on the phone, I would not like to be hit by one of these ! AND those who talk on the phone while weaving thru traffic, those are even more dangerous !

Be safe people !

[Johnny Appleseed @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:50AM]

Driving drunk is safer. At least you have your eyes on the road.

[Low @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:23AM]

This was actually proven on Mythbusters, but you can't automatically snap back to reality whilst drunk as you can while talking/texting.

[Noel @ Jul 23rd 2007 12:58AM]

police officers talk on cell phones too! i was driving once and i was on my cell and a cop pulled up next to me and i got all scared when i looked over and saw him on his cell and his partner texting it up on their blackberries. i dunno, that made me kind of laugh.

[Dave @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:31AM]

It bothers me to see all these comments saying we need more laws against using cellphones while driving. While I am strongly against using cellphones while driving, this kind of criminal misbehavior falls under wreckless / distracted driving laws already in effect - It would be great to see these existing laws enforced.

[Bryan Chang @ Jul 23rd 2007 1:59AM]

I'm still waiting for those woman jokes.

[fistpittingnork @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:08AM]

What do you call a British teen who texts on her phone too much?

[Mark @ Jul 23rd 2007 2:08AM]

Four years isn't nearly long enough for killing someone, especially killing someone because they were texting.

I hope this sends a message out to drivers with cell phones....PUT THE DAMNED THING AWAY UNTIL YOU HAVE STOPPED.

[John Stokes @ Jul 23rd 2007 2:21AM]

"It goes without saying that talking whilst driving (let alone texting) isn't exactly the safest practice "

Are we really living in an age where talking while driving is considered dangerous ! Just to be clear, I agree talking on a mobile while driving is dangerous (not handsfree btw), and texting is even more so. But just talking !! IMHO if your using 2 hands to control the car and 2 eyes on the road your surely within any reasonable definition of safety.

[RikF @ Jul 23rd 2007 5:52AM]

Wrong. Completely wrong. For some reason (be it the vastly reduced quality compared to a RL conversation or some other factor) talking on a cell phone drastically reduces reaction times. Putting on a hands-free kit makes almost zero difference. It is the cognitive load, not the missing hand, which causes the problems. Your reaction times are slightly quicker when driving at the drink-drive limit (although obviously that affects you for the entire drive, not for the duration of the call). Would you like to defend people who drink and drive as well? Thought not. Talking on cell phones whilst driving needs to be given the same social status as drink-driving. Only when people are made social pariahs when discovered doing it will the numbers reduce.

[vnPhantom @ Jul 23rd 2007 10:01PM]

RikF is so true.

[John Stokes @ Jul 24th 2007 12:11AM]

Nice twist of logic there RikF. Someone driving at the drink drive limit has quicker reaction times, how much drink driving is at the limit ! I'd wager not a lot. Also, it is not just reaction times that alcohol affects but risk taking too. So I don't think it is a fair comparison, but you make a good point. I wasn't aware mobile phone talking requires more cognitive load than a real conv, can you provide links to studies or reports etc ....

[PhAsR @ Jul 23rd 2007 2:36AM]

voice recognition any1? :P if you manag to install vista on your phone lol

[Simon @ Jul 23rd 2007 3:23AM]

omg, vista on a phone? thatd be WORSE! "are you sure you want to do that?" "Yes" "are you really sure" "YES!!" "i'm sorry brian, i can't do that" "AAARRRRRGRHHHHHH" *car swerves into ditch/off bridge/into quarry/into oncoming traffic*

[L.Rawlins @ Jul 23rd 2007 3:50AM]

She likely only got four years because our prisons are already full. As much as I deplore her actions, I think its safe to say that it came from naivete and not murderous intent.

Which is what we want to be filling those few remaining cells with.

In or out of jail, this young girl will still have to live with the knowledge that she killed the other woman that tragic night.

I say four years, and perhaps a driving ban of equal measure upon release.

[Tracy in Cary @ Jul 23rd 2007 11:35AM]

Or better yet. Tell her when she gets out she can have a Cell phone OR a driver's license. But not both.

Getting caught with a phone and driving a car: back to jail.

[claud @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:45AM]

We humans sometimes think of ourselves as all equally Intelligent, In a perfect world that might exist?, but here on earth it does not, as 99% of the US population has an average I.Q. of 101, data shows 90% of the 99% has an I.Q. of 81 and below (an I.Q. of greater than 130 would be preferred), Forest Gump character had an I.Q. of 70 but he was a nice person, (so being not so smart but nice, I am OK with). (But being stupid and a "Bonehead", I am not OK with). When 90 out of 100 people you meet are "Gumpish" and when personalities (Good & Bad) are mixed in, so we all seem to be surprised when people do and say "Stupid" things, statistically it’s to be expected, and we all would like to believe that 90% of people are all equally smart, but that’s just not true.
Everywhere I go there is someone doing something stupid, on TV or on the road, it’s everywhere. The only ones who don’t know or could ever are the "Stupid" people. I know it’s not "politically correct" and many of you will be upset by my statement, but it will not change the truth of it all. (we all know that I.Q. is a rough measurement and not precise) but even if it gives you some general numbers to work with, we can see we have a long way to go before we evolve into something on the high percentage of "Intelligence".
90% of the people you meet on the street are genetically incapable to reason out the obvious, they keep trying to fit the square peg in the round hole and argue the fact that its suppose to work that way, to them it is a big challenge in which they employ theories that make them feel better, a false sense of superiority of discovering something without proof so as to make it seem like they are an intellectuals.
I know that that the main response is going to be that an IQ test does not really measure Intelligence?, you could also give the "Gasoline can and matches test" to weed out a good majority, but if you think about it, I.Q. testing gives you something to work with and as time goes by there will be better test to give more accurate results, no matter if you are educated or not, although for someone with a low I.Q. it definitely does not hurt to be "Educated".
My personal belief is that if we are to have any chance of surviving in this world we need to educate and somehow find a way to have us mere mortals to have "common sense" even if it’s by training through “Education.
I would think most if not all of our mistakes throughout history have been made out of the combination from fatal stupidity aligned with sheer ignorance. Statistically we sometimes are plagued with that evil that lurks in each one of us and causes us to do harm and destruction. Examples of these atrocities are documented endlessly since the beginning of time, yet we are still oblivious.
Our "Only" chance of survival is to train and educate and filter the evil ones from our human society, it is something we all have to do together, but that is almost an impossible challenge in itself considering all the different cultures, religions and languages make the odds are against us, I could list an endless set of examples but hopefully you get what I am trying to say.
It’s the impossible task of joining together for the whole of humanity.
Hopefully we have enough strength and ability to do just that.
We all have to figure out where we are on the Intelligence scale, and some soul searching as to our moral and ethical values is very much needed to make the right choices for our future together in that the majority can agree on to make life here on Earth, so that it can be rewarding in every aspect so to fulfill every avenue that we embark upon, Intellectually, Morally and from a financial point a positive return on our money invested.
Remember 90 out of 100 are not odds the few will gamble their life with. But I am more frightened that the 90 likely will!

[bob @ Jul 23rd 2007 4:26PM]

thats a long post. anyway.. I dont think this is a matter of intelligence or I.Q. You could have a real genius , say for instance a doctor like doctor shipman in the U.K. who killed 200+ people. obviously he had a high I.Q. , but he didnt use it in the most civilised way.
so , seeing as raising the I.Q. level is impossible , and maybe even pointless in these situations , education might be the better way to go.

[Ally @ Jul 23rd 2007 6:23AM]

well technically, if you say that almost 99% of US citizens are "dumb", dosent THAT make them all equal? albiet stupid, but still equal then :P

[Cam @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:08AM]

Because the UK is a soft-touch country thanks to the interfering t**ts from the EU, she will be out on parole at the end of her 2year thanks to 'good behaviour'.
Texting is much harder to do while driving at 70mph than calling and that's in dry weather!!!

Besides coppers over here have to go through 'Advanced Driving' courses to prove that they can speed safely and multitask at the same time!

[Lee @ Jul 23rd 2007 3:09PM]

the UK is not a soft touch, an we should quit the EU, its imposable to make laws for such a wide area, and cops need to drive better, my mum was hit by one (in her car) who was speeding and didnt have sirens on, outside a school as kids were leaving

[steve Johnson @ Jul 23rd 2007 7:55AM]

You're an idiot.

[claud @ Jul 23rd 2007 8:11AM]

Someone said "You can't fix Stupid" and it’s True! , This will not be the end of driving while Talking, Texting, Eating, Reading, and any other obvious "STUPID" thing to do!
Honest Arogance is better than false humility

[Eric @ Jul 23rd 2007 8:41AM]

A girl was downloading ringtones while driving and hit a 22 year old guy on a bike (he was wearing a helmet) and killed him in the area I'm from.

I'm pretty sure she didn't even get jail time.

These people need to get off our streets and rot in hell.

[Jared @ Jul 23rd 2007 9:21AM]

Your going to see more and more states adopting no texting while driving laws. Though not because a cyclist was killed or because a grandma was killed, it's only because 5 cheerleaders died.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19764563/
http://video.msn.com/v/us/msnbc.htm?g=0c1a605c-c9dc-49eb-9692-0fb8e1b41cd9&f=00&fg=

Though she was driving at night without a night permit, driving 5 people in the car, when her permit only allowed 3, etc. The parents firmly believed that their "princess" did nothing wrong.

So you have to ask yourself, will the laws really help? It's doubtful. What I'd really like to see is some liability for shitty parenting. I firmly believe that in this particular case the parents should be held liable for creating an environment where their daughter thought it was perfectly acceptable to break the law. Which subsequently got herself and four of her classmates killed.