NH to Educate Drivers on Hand-Held Cell Phone Ban

A law banning the use of all hand-held electronic devices goes into effect on July 1

An Amherst, New Hampshire, woman is talking about the heartache of losing her husband, in hopes of saving others.

Marilyn Bachman's husband, John, was killed when a distracted driver hit him while he was getting the mail outside their home on a December afternoon back in 2013.

"He was lying in the snowbank calling for help," Bachman said.

When we met Bachman Wednesday morning, she pulled out a card her husband gave her, and read it out loud.

"I look forward to the privilege of growing old and holding hands with you forever," Bachman read. "I'm never going to have that," she added.

While Bachman's been dealing with a broken heart, she's decided to do something worthwhile with her pain.

"To sit and dwell in grief, it's not in me to do that," Bachman said.

So she's joined New Hampshire's Driving Toward Zero campaign promoting the new law that prohibits drivers from using any handheld device.

"Everyone is going to have to change, I'm going to have to change, law enforcement is going to have to change," said New Hampshire State Police Colonel Robert Quinn at a press conference Wednesday. "It's going to be hard, old habits die hard."

Quinn says in the last four years, distracted driving has been the cause of 124 fatal crashes.

Wednesday, Driving Toward Zero released a new Public Service Announcement featuring Bachman.

She hopes her tragic and powerful story will make a difference.

"It can wait, put the phone down," Bachman said. "To save one life is to have succeeded."

The current law only prohibits texting and driving, which police say is nearly impossible to enforce. The new law, going into effect July 1, prohibits the use of all hand-held devices including GPS units, iPads, iPods and tablets.

Penalties start at $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second, and $500 for the third.

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