Edgartown, MA issues first fine for texting while driving
9 days after Massachusetts’ texting while driving ban became effective, police officers in Edgartown issued their first citation to a local driver.
According to the police report, Mauricio Decarvalho was stopped at a stop signed when a police officer saw him using his cell phone.
“The operator of this vehicle was using his cell phone in what appeared to be text messaging. Mauricio had his head down facing the phone, and was typing on the keypad of his phone using both hands. He did this during the entire duration of when my vehicle passed his stopped vehicle, approximately three seconds”, said the report.
The driver admitted he was texting his boss after being pulled over by the police officer.
For police chief Tony Bettencourt, the texting while driving law was easy to enforce in this particular situation, but it may not always be the case.
“It’s tough to prove, it’s not tough to make the traffic stop,” said Chief Bettencourt . “It’s not going to be easy for us.”
The new texting while driving law calls for a $100 fine for the first offense, $250 for a second offense, and $500 for a third offense. It is not a surchargeable violation. Insurance companies cannot penalize a driver’s safety record or change insurance rates based on a texting-while-driving citation.
Source: The Martha’s Vineyard Times, October 27, 2010
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