Texting-while-driving law appears imminent
Those locals who send text messages via their cell phones while driving must either break the habit now or risk getting pulled over by police in the near future. The Richmond Times-Dispatch reports that Governor Tim Kaine (D) will sign into law a bill the General Assembly passed banning texting-while-driving. The first offense is punishable with a $20 fine, repeated infractions will result in a $50 fine. Cell phone addicts need not fret about putting away their beloved hand-helds altogether while driving. A bill that would have outlawed all non-hands-free cell phones while driving died in the Senate.
–photo by Ace Armstrong/Flickr
7 comments
Another useless law on the books that will never be enforced. The law banning the use of earphones ( 46.2-1078 ) isn't enforced any longer, as easy as it is to spot them in use. So how is a cell phone being held below driver door glass level going to be spotted?
Even if a cop stands outside the door and watches somebody text message, how will he/she ever get a conviction? The driver simply has to say they were entering a phone number to dial. Or entering information into their "contact list" in the internal memory.
The law is good, the enforcement is next to impossible.
If they pass this bill what will keep drivers occupied while driving?
i dont know... looks like we won't have to look too far to find the biggest perps of all:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090327/ap_on_fe_st/odd_blackberry_collision
Sick I agree, this law is as far fetched as the one that bans headphones. I think the true solution to this problem is for phone companies to make their phones harder to use for texting so that the task of texting is too much for the average driver.
This issue is as serious as drunk driving or wreckless driving; it inhibits the drivers ability to fully operate the vehicle. Unless drastic measures such as the one i suggested aren't taken the problem will only get worse as the younger, more text savvy generation hit the roads.
BTW, Your cell phone records can be used against you in court to prove reckless driving. The DA only has to subpoenas them to prove you were texting while driving. The timeline in the record is going to show what you sent and to whom. It's highly unlikely that you will be able to deny the texting. It's very self incriminating.
Stupid people have to abuse everything. Cell phone use while driving will eventually be banned nationwide by all 50 states, it's just a matter of time. Go for a ride one day and watch, every other person on the road now has a cell phone up to their ear. It's not just the young kids, it's everybody. Seems as if it's a status symbol now, you're a nobody if you don't have a cell phone up to your ear and talking while driving. It has caused countless accidents and fatalities nationwide. There are no accurate statistics though, people aren't quite stupid enough to admit they were on a cell phone when they ran over some old man crossing the street. And they aren't quite stupid enough to admit being on a cell phone when they ran a red light broadsiding somebody else's car and killing two people.
Yes, I use a cell phone while driving. The distraction is pretty dangerous. But on the other hand, unlike some people, I have never had trouble driving and chewing bubble gum at the same time yet (perfect driving record here, no charges or convictions ever). And I don't have to have coffee in one hand, cell phone in the other, and drive with one knee on the steering wheel.
The worst I have ever seen was a woman brushing her hair one day with one hand, head down holding cell phone on top of shoulder, drinking a beverage with second hand, and one knee on the steering wheel. She was on the 250 bypass going 45 mph right beside me. This type of person deserves a reckless driving ticket if a cop is ever fortunate enough to catch them.
Laws do not have to describe every possible situation before they can be enforced. We need to stop making sub-laws. Just enforce the one we have. If you have an accident while texting, then prepare yourself for a reckless driving charge.