LINCOLN- One Omaha family is turning tragedy to advocacy, urging Nebraska lawmakers to increase penalties for motor vehicle homicide, speeding and distracted driving. LB1340, through an amendment presented by State Sen. Kathleen Kauth of Omaha, would bump motor vehicle homicide from a Class I misdemeanor to a Class IV felony. It would also allow the penalty to be enhanced to a Class IIIA felony for one additional reason: if the “proximate cause” of death is because of a handheld wireless communication device.

A Class I misdemeanor comes with a maximum of one year imprisonment or a $1,000 fine, or both. A Class IV felony calls for up to two years imprisonment and one year post-release supervision or a $10,000 fine, or both. Kauth said by raising potential penalties, she hopes to provide an extra incentive to focus on the task at hand: driving safely and attentively.

“As a society, we have all become more and more distracted, no matter what the cause of our distractions,” Kauth told the Transportation and Telecommunications Committee. “When we get behind the wheel of a car, you have to be able and willing to focus on what we’re doing,” Kauth continued. “We literally take our lives and the lives around us in our hands every time.”

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