Another “Distracted Driving Month” in April goes by and still no hands-free law has been passed since my daughter Erica’s death 14 years ago due to a distracted driver on their cell phone. Instead, Colorado has seen a 50% increase in traffic deaths since 2011 due to the spike in unsafe drivers according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Last year marked the most traffic deaths since 2002 with 672 deaths due to traffic crashes in Colorado.

Despite the heartache of losing a child and having the month of April named “Distracted Driving Awareness Month” by Congress in her memory, and despite bringing national attention to this issue and to my family in Fort Collins, the fatalities continue to rise as the use of technology while driving continues to rise.

All the while, Colorado laws stay unchanged.

Our daughter Erica was a bright, beautiful 9-year-old. On Nov. 25, 2008, she was riding her bike home from school on the last day before the Thanksgiving break when she was struck head-on by a distracted driver just around the corner from our home. The person who struck her was holding her phone talking to someone and was looking for something in her passenger’s seat. She drifted over eight feet into the bicycle lane. She did not know she had hit my daughter until it was too late. It was as if she were driving blind – a ghost in the seat with a foot on the pedal.

Our daughter Erica died two days later from a severe brain injury. All from a crash that was 100% preventable.

That single phone call at 3:38 p.m. took my daughter’s life. She should be celebrating her 23rd birthday this August. I have watched my other two daughters grow up without their sister. We have celebrated holidays and enjoyed family gatherings without Erica. The loss of her life impacted our family, our neighborhood, and our community.

No one ever thinks it can happen to them. We did not think it could happen to us less than half a block from our home. But it did. And it is happening more and more.

Losing my daughter was a starting point for my advocacy and outreach to educate drivers about this deadly addiction of cell phone use and driving. In 2009 I joined other victim advocates and became a founding board member that launched a non-profit organization called Focus Driven Advocates for Cell Free Driving. Today I give speeches on the dangers of this uncontrolled epidemic. But I can only give so many speeches – it will take much more.

Education is good, but enforcement to stop behaviors must come with it. Distracted driving happens in all neighborhoods, in all communities – on city streets and rural roads. We must support what the legislature has been trying to do for years and finally pass a bill that makes our streets safer for everyone.

I encourage the passage of SB 22-175, which would require hands-free accessories and ban the use of handheld mobile devices. As a mother who has lost my child and witnessed the tragic consequences brought on by a distracted driver, I urge lawmakers to please pass this needed law – not just for my daughter, but for all of us. The circle of “I know someone this happened to” is getting smaller and the statistics are rising. Let’s not make it to 15 years with no action.

Shelley Forney lives in Fort Collins. Her 9-year-old daughter Erica Forney was killed on her bicycle by a distracted driver in 2008.