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New Bill Aims to Ban Text Messaging Behind the Wheel

Recently a study was released by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute that showed that the dangers of a motorist being involved in an accident or near accident while text messaging increased by 23 times over a non-distracted driver. Now, a bill that calls for a ban on text messaging behind the wheel has been introduced in the Senate.

The bill was sponsored by a group of Democrats including Senator Charles E. Schumer. The bill would require states to pass laws banning text messaging by drivers, or risk losing 25 percent of their annual highway safety funding from the federal government. If the bill is passed, it would establish deadlines for transportation officials to set minimum penalties that states would then implement. States would have two years to enact their own laws banning text messaging.

Currently, the District of Columbia and 13 states, including California, have bans on text messaging by motorists. The District of Columbia also has a ban on texting, and Maryland has enforced a ban that will take effect on the first of October. California has a ban on all handheld devices by motorists behind the wheel.

The District of Columbia’s cell phone ban on drivers is offering experts a model on how such laws can be most effective. In 2006, a study conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety in the District showed a “significant decline” in cell phone use by motorists after the ban. Cell phone use by motorists has dropped by 51 percent, and the rates still remain the same. The District of Columbia’s ban is about 5 years old.

Not all states have had similar results with their own cell phone laws. In New York, a ban on text messaging first showed a promising decline, but within a year, cell phone use by motorists was on the rise again. According to Insurance Institute representatives, the District of Columbia has been able to enforce the ban more effectively because it has a reputation for strict traffic enforcement. It makes sense that drivers who know they are likely to be spotted and pulled over by a cop, would be more likely to put away their cell phones than those living in states where enforcement is not as strict. The Insurance Institute is planning a follow up study into the District of Colombia statistics to understand the reasons for the decline. The Institute believes that because the District’s ban is enforced as a primary offense, it allows police to pull a motorist over solely on suspicion of cell phone use.

Maryland’s new texting ban also involves primary enforcement. In California too, the ban on handheld devices comes with primary enforcement, allowing traffic enforcement officers to pull over a motorist for cell phone use only, without the presence of any other violations. Some of the 13 states that have a ban on text messaging and handheld cell phone use behind the wheel enforce these bans on a secondary basis which means that traffic enforcement officers must make a stop for another offense before they can write out a ticket for texting.

California personal injury lawyers believe that a complete nationwide ban on text messaging is long overdue.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of car accidents. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not acting as legal counsel for any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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