 The difference between life and death is sometimes as simple as stop and go. Tragically, three 18-year-old boys found that out. Without stopping, they drove their white Camaro through the intersection in front of Tim's Cafe, right into the path of an eight-ton truck. All three were killed. They didn't realize that they were supposed to stop. That's because, as a prank, three other young people had ripped down the stop sign earlier that evening. This seemingly harmless joke had extremely severe consequences. It snuffed out the promising young lives of Randall White, Kevin Farr, and Brian Hernandez. And it took a tremendous emotional toll on their families. Kevin's right to life was taken away from him by these people. Their right to freedom should be removed also. The lives of the three kids who pulled the stop sign down have also been changed forever. There's been many a nights that I've set up and tried. I've not been able to go to sleep because of the fact that your son never returned home. All three of the vandals, Thomas Miller, Nisa Bailey, and Christopher Cole, were tried and convicted of manslaughter. To put you in prison for 50 years seems to me an absolute waste of your life. Now, I'm not gonna do that. The court hereby sentenced you to serve 30 years in the Florida State Prison. I will suspend that after 15 years. If you think vandalizing road signs is just an innocent prank or just something the kids do, you're wrong, dead wrong. Too many Americans are killed and injured every year because of damaged and missing signs. Signed vandalism is a serious crime with very serious consequences. Lives are destroyed, families are torn apart. It's a senseless act that causes considerable suffering. For those who are injured in a resulting accident, for their families and friends, and, as you've just seen, for the vandals themselves. Every day, signs along our nation's roadways are needlessly destroyed. Signs that are designed to provide vital safety messages to motorists. They're knocked down. They're stolen. They're used for target practice. They're spray-painted with graffiti. And although vandals have different motives, the results are the same. For instance, in March of 1999, a 58-year-old San Antonio man was waiting for a bus. But somebody had stolen a stop sign at the intersection where he was standing. As a result, two cars collided and spun out of control. One of them struck and killed him. Getting caught vandalizing road signs can mean paying a stiff fine or even serving jail time. But there's a much more severe punishment, even for those who don't get arrested. It's living with the fact that innocent people might be injured or killed, all because of a stupid, impulsive act. This occurred in 1963. It was right after graduation. I decided to take a couple of stop signs down and a yield right-of-way sign down. And did that. Didn't think anything of it, continued through the evening. And following morning, we got a call that someone had turned us in, gotten our license number and turned us in. The problem is that real early that morning, there were two cars coming, one each direction, opposite directions, and the yield right-of-way sign that was down didn't stop the one car. And both cars collided at about 65 miles an hour. And there were two individuals that were killed, one grandmother and one young mother. So we immediately turned ourselves into the police department. It was just kind of normal things that kids do, particularly during those years. I mean, everyone we knew was doing those things. But, you know, obviously, all three of us were devastated at the creating part of the deaths. I mean, it was difficult. Still is difficult. In addition to the human suffering that's caused by sign vandalism, there are also financial consequences. And as taxpayers, all of us foot the bill. It's estimated that one out of 10 traffic signs needs to be replaced every year because of vandalism. And the cost for doing that adds up to millions of dollars. This dangerous and costly situation has got to be resolved. And increasingly, the courts are doing exactly that. Although the Florida stop sign case resulted in the deaths of three teenagers and 15 years in prison for the young vandals convicted of removing the sign, some good has come out of it. This catastrophe brought national attention to this type of vandalism. It demonstrated that there are consequences, very grave consequences, for removing or defacing signs along our roadways. Three people lost their lives and three other people were punished for a crime that they committed. They were given Florida State prison for this. So the accountability is great. And I think the message sent out to the people is that it's not a prank. It's a very serious crime. We need to respect the signage of our country. We need to say these signs are there for a reason to protect each and every one of us when we get behind the wheel of a car. And if we don't have those signs to rely on every day, there'll be more lives that will be lost. The most important thing that we can glean from the case in Hillsborough County is to recognize this case is not unique. This can happen anywhere in the country. It can happen in the smallest town, the biggest city. So what's being done to reduce the incidence of sign vandalism? Well, many local governments are now using sophisticated tracking software to determine the location and condition of signs within their jurisdictions. There's also something each of us can do if we notice that a road sign is defaced, damaged, or missing. Immediately call your local law enforcement authority to report it. That's because a damaged or missing sign creates a very real danger for both motorists and pedestrians. Sign vandalism can also create a serious hazard for emergency response vehicles responding to other life and death situations. So law enforcement officials encourage anyone who notices a vandalized sign to get in touch with them as soon as possible. By doing that, a maintenance crew can be dispatched to immediately replace the missing or defaced sign. Defacing, vandalizing, and stealing roadway signs are crimes. Crimes that can result in severe consequences, even jail time. How would you feel if you had to knock on a door and tell a mother, father, sister, or brother that their loved one had died or been permanently disabled because of your prank? Rather, wouldn't it be better to resolve today that if you see a sign that's been defaced, vandalized, or stolen, that you would call your local authority and tell them it needs to be replaced? The life you save, the injury you prevent may be that of a friend, neighbor, or maybe your own. We all need to help do away with sign vandalism along our nation's roads. That's because without the vital safety messages that they're designed to convey, the well-being of motorists and pedestrians is in serious jeopardy. So if you should ever think about removing or defacing a sign, think again. Think about the consequences. And if you happen to see that a road sign is damaged or missing, call your local law enforcement authority right away. Don't wait. Someone's life might be at stake. Vandalizing road signs is a stupid crime. It's an act that injures and kills innocent people. It causes heartache and suffering for their loved ones. It ruins the lives of the vandals themselves. And it costs taxpayers millions of dollars to replace them. Do what you can to help eliminate sign vandalism. Your life could depend on it.