A few months ago, Alaska lawmakers were forced back to the drawing board after a training judge advised other magistrates to dismiss texting while driving cases because of some loopholes in the 2008 law. While the case is on appeal, it didn’t stop a few House representatives to come up with a stronger law.

As opposed to its predecessor, House Bill 255 explicitly prohibits motorists from reading or typing a text message from a cell phone or any electronic device while driving a motor vehicle.

The House Transportation Committee heard arguments from one of the bill sponsors, Rep. Les Gara, as many questioned if HB 255 would make up for the current law’s flaws.

“It’s carefully worded so not just today’s technology but tomorrow’s technology is addressed,” said Gara.

The House Representative pushed the Transportation Committee to adopt the proposed bill in order to ensure safety on the roads of Alaska.

“I think you only really need one fact, and that is according to the National Conference on State Legislators, drivers who text while they drive are 20 times more likely to have an accident than people who don’t text,” Gara said.

The bill has now been referred to the Judiciary Committee for its next hearing.

Source: Associated Press, January 26, 2011

Texting while driving has been illegal in the state of Virginia since 2009, although the bill made it a secondary enforcement ban. Three years later, Virginia lawmakers are looking to improve the texting ban by making it a primary enforcement law. 

The Senate Transportation Committee recently approved two bills that could make texting while driving a primary infraction. Senate Bill 219, sponsored by Sen. George L. Barker, would amend the current legislation to make it a primary enforcement law.  Violating the law would still result into a $20 fine for a first time offense, and $50 for subsequent offenses. Meanwhile, Senate Bill 210 would make texting while driving or using a cell phone a primary enforcement infraction for drivers with a provisional license.

For AAA Mid-Atlantic’s Martha Meade, making the current laws more severe is a necessity,

“No message is worth a life. They can all wait,” said Meade. “We know that distracting driving is an enormous problem, eclipsing even drunk driving in the minds of people in Virginia.”

While similar bills were rejected by the House during the 2011 Legislative session,  Sen. Baker reflected how people’s opinion have changed in the past year.

“People are very concerned,” said Sen. Barker.  ”They’re beginning to understand the risk to them.”

Both legislations are now headed to the Senate. 

Source: Richmond Times Dispatch, January 19, 2012; WTVR CBS 6, January 19, 2012

Sen. Nancy Detert ‘s third attempt at banning texting while driving is up to a good start, In the first three days of the 2012 Legislative session, the bill she sponsors has receive an important approval from the Senate Communications, Energy and Public Utilities Committee. 

Senate Bill 415 would prohibit text messaging while driving in Florida, which includes email and instant messages. A first time offender would receive a $30 fine, while subsequent offenders within the next five years would face fine of $60 and 3 points against their driver’s license.

The bill successfully passed in front of the Committee in a 12-1 vote, with only Sen. Joe Negron opposing to the texting ban. Negron’s arguments were that such law would be hard to enforce and that the reckless driving laws could easily apply to texting while driving. The Committee agreed to make the bill a secondary enforcement infraction, which was seen as a compromise to the opposition within the Senate.

Sen. Detert was pleased to see that Florida lawmakers are ready to make the changes needed to make the roads safer.

“Legislators understand that the public is 97 percent supportive of this,” she said. “You’re not staying in your lane. You’re threatening the safety of others. It’s a very important bill.”

The bill will now face a vote in the Senate, but the strongest opposition might come from the Governor’s office itself. In 2011, Gov. Rick Scott vetoed a bill looking to provide education the dangers of driving distractions by the DMV.

Source:  Herald Tribune, January 12, 2012

Most drivers caught texting while driving will receive a fine or points against their license for committing such infraction. But what if the consequence was actually to revoke someone’s license?

A recent survey from Poll Position reveals that one American out of two believes that drivers caught exchanging text messages behind the wheel should actually face a license suspension for a certain period of time. Also, 12% of all people surveyed expressed no preference as to whether texting drivers should keep their driving privileges or not.

As expected, results vary by age. Among respondents between 18 and 29, 39.4% would encourage police officers to suspend the license of a texting driver; where as 67.2% of people over the age of 65 are supporting the idea.  A slight difference of opinion was noticed when looking at the results on a gender basis. While nearly 53% of all women surveyed are in favor of suspending the driving rights of a distracted driver, 46.6% of all men respondents approved the idea.

The survey was conducted among 1,094 registered voters in January 2012.

Source: Poll Position, January 6, 2012

Over the past three years, Rep. Jim McClendon has tried to convince fellow lawmakers that Alabama needed to ban texting while driving. Unfortunately, his efforts were in vain as each time, the Senate rejected the proposition. This time around, it appears that Rep. McClendon may have found an ally in the Senate to help him go through with the texting ban. 

House Bill 2 would ban driving on a public road or highway statewide while manually using a cellphone or other wireless device to write, send or read text messages, electronic mail or other text-based communications. Penalties provided by the primary enforcement law would be a $25 fine for a first violation, a $50 fine for a second infraction and a $75 fine starting from the third violation.

For McClendon, banning texting while driving is a no-brainer.

”There’s no question that texting is as dangerous as drunk driving. The data show it,” he said. ”Your eyes come off the road. Your hands come off the wheel. Your mind comes off the job.”

This year, Rep. McClendon has received the support of the Senate majority leader Sen. Jabo Waggoner who vowed to sponsor a similar bill in the Senate. As Wagonner said, 2012 might be the time to tackle the issue of texting while driving.

”I think that bill will be given a higher priority in the Senate than it has in the past. The stock has gone up on that bill.”

The 2012 Legislature session opens February 7.

Source:  The Birmingham News, December 30, 2011

Back in 2008, Alaska was one of the forerunners on laws regarding texting while driving. But three years later, it appears that the law the state adopted is being disputed by magistrate judges. 

Magistrate Jennifer Wells and her peers in Fairbanks are now opposing any new cases of texting while driving since Wells dismissed a case in October, citing the law was too ambiguous.

As per Alaska Statute Section 28.35.161, “a person commits the crime of driving with a screen device operating if the person is driving a motor vehicle; the vehicle has [device] that is in full view of a driver in a normal driving position while the vehicle is in motion; and the monitor or visual display is operating while the person is driving.”.  Therefore, the law does not refer specifically to cell phones or texting while driving, and an exception is included in the law for “verbal communications”.

In a December 1 decision, Judge Wells justified her decision.

“Whether the 25th Legislature did, indeed intend the statute to prohibit texting, or whether the statute has gotten that reputation because lawmakers and law enforcement wish this were true, is perhaps irrelevant.  If the Alaska legislature wanted to prohibit texting, then it should have, and could have, clearly said so, just as California did,” she said.

The State will be appealing Wells’ decision.

Source: Associated Press, December 26, 2011

For the past three years, Republican Senator Nancy Detert has tried to convince her fellow lawmakers to ban texting while driving in Florida, without success. And for the fourth consecutive year, she’s giving it another try. 

“I am a big fan of personal freedom, doing whatever you want in your automobile, as long as you don’t take me out with you,” said Sen. Detert, R-Venice during the committee hearing.

The Florida Senate Transportation Committee has approved in a unanimous vote a proposal to make texting while driving a secondary offense, meaning the citation could be given after police officers have pulled drivers over for another infraction.  According to SB 416, a first offense would mean a $30 fine. Subsequent offenses within five years would translate into a fine of $60 and 3 points against the driver’s license. Moreover, motorists causing an accident while using a wireless communications device would receive 6 points against their license.

Sen. Detert even convinced Committee Chairman Sen. Jack Latvala, who was initially against the idea.

“I think it’s important we send this out of here with a loud message, so I’m going to vote with you today,” said Latvala before voting in favor of SB 416.

Florida lawmakers will return to work in January 2012 to vote on the measure.

Source: Orlando Sentinel, December 13, 2011

35 states now have legislation on texting while driving. It might be a good thing, because it appears that motorists still underestimate the dangers of such habit. 

In 2010, over 3,000 crashes were related to distracted driving. Moreover, according to a recent survey from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), texting while driving is on the rise. At the beginning of 2009, 1.4% of motorists said they used their phones to exchange text messages; as of September of 2011, thus number had increased to 4.1%.

As suspected, young drivers are the ones taking ore risks. While nearly one out of five drivers mentioned they engaged in texting while driving, about 50% of people between the age of 21 and 24 admitted to sending text messages when driving. Data also shows that men are slightly more inclined of doing so then women

In a statement, NHTSA Administrator David Strickland said the number might actually be higher than we think.

“[…] given ongoing challenges in capturing the scope of the problem—including 7 individuals’ reluctance to admit behavior, lack of witnesses, and in some cases the death of the driver—NHTSA believes the actual number of crashes that involve distracted driving could be higher.”

The majority of respondents (94%) supported a ban on texting while driving. When questioned as to what fine would be the most dissuasive, 79% agreed that fines of $100 or higher would be reasonable.

Source:  National Phone Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors, December 9, 2011

Thanksgiving can be more than a family holiday. For the New York State Police, it was the opportunity to remind motorists of the dangers of texting while driving. 

During the course of 5 day Thanksgiving holiday, 816 tickets were issued for a texting while driving violations. About 40% of the tickets were handed out during “Operation Hang Up”, an enhanced enforcement campaign that was conducted from November 23-27.

Gov. Andew Cuomo, who in July signed a new bill to make the texting ban a primary enforcement, said in a statement that the number of tickets justified the stricter law.

“The more than 800 tickets issued in just five days further demonstrates the need for these stricter laws which focus on drivers who put others at risk by illegally using a hand-held device.  I thank the State Police and local law enforcement agencies for cracking down on distracted driving during the holiday weekend to help protect New Yorkers and keep our highways safe.”

In the first six months of 2011, an average 429 tickets were issued each month to motorists for using a handheld electronic device while driving. Ever since the new law has been enforced in July, the number of tickets has more than double and surpassed 1,000 tickets each month.

Source: Gov. Andrew Cuomo press release, December 1, 2011

According to a new survey released by Kanetix, an online quote comparison website for insurances, 80% of all Canadian drivers have bad habits behind the wheels. The results showed that texting while driving, a habit criticized by many these days, may not be that popular after all. 

Out of the 1,344 people surveyed, eating was ranked the number one driving distraction as 39% of all Canadian surveyed admitted to consuming food or beverages behind the wheel. Moreover, other habits looked like it could be more dangerous than texting while driving. Talking on the phone and texting while driving came in third place with 18%, but speeding ranked in second place as 36% of all respondents appear to ignore the speeding limits. It is worth nothing that one of out five drivers estimated that they are perfect drivers who are not distracted when driving.

As Kanetix’s Marketplace Director Janine White noted, some drivers seem to underestimate the scope of their practice.

“Our poll clearly indicates many motorists have no qualms with eating or drinking behind the wheel, however, when drivers take their eyes off the road, even for a second, there can be serious consequences,” she said.

 As of September 1, all Canadian provinces have now banned texting while driving.

Source:  Kanetix press release, November 22, 2011