Florida Texting While Driving Ban Bill Sponsored By Senator Maria Sachs

You're hurtling down the interstate at 70 mph, or 103 feet per second. Sending or receiving that irresistible text averages more than four seconds, which means you've traveled farther than the length of a football field -- blind.
Texting or talking on a cellphone while driving accounts for more than 100,000 crashes a year nationwide, according to federal statistics. In 2011 there were 3,331 fatalities nationally involving distracted drivers.
"We're going to put a stop to it," state Sen. Maria Sachs vowed Wednesday. "There's going to be no more distracted driving in the state of Florida."
The Delray Beach Democrat announced her sponsorship of a bill in the upcoming Legislature that would outlaw texting or cellphone conversations while driving.
Broward Sheriff Scott Israel, who along with the Florida Sheriff's Association supports the bill, joined Sachs at a demonstration of the effects of distracted driving at Broward College's Institute of Public Safety in Davie.
"It's relevant, it's important, and as sure as we're standing here it's going to save lives," the sheriff said. "Like alcohol and driving, texting and driving doesn't mix."
Sachs' bill would make it a moving violation for drivers to use anything but hands-free devices while behind the wheel. A first offense would result in a $100 fine, with higher penalties for second and third offenses. Driver's license points would not be subtracted.
Sachs said she expects the bill to be well-received by both Democrats and Republicans at this spring's legislative session.
"I don't know anybody who could oppose this, to stop the slaughter that's going on our highways," she said.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, texting while driving makes crashes 23 times more likely. Florida is one of just six states that don't have laws banning texting while driving, the administration said.
In Wednesday's demonstration, Deputy Ian Hunt, driving a navy blue Chevrolet Suburban at 35 mph, attempted to change lanes while texting. He swerved dramatically, knocked down a half dozen traffic cones, and nearly flipped over.
Wayne Boulier, the safety institute's driving instructor, said when drivers text, they're traveling blind and miss precious seconds in reaction time should they need to brake or maneuver out of danger.
"You're losing time, it's time you can't recapture," he said. "What usually happens is you overcompensate, over-steer or under-steer."
Volunteers at the college's driving simulator consistently left the road or crashed when trying to follow instructions while texting.
Sachs said text-free driving is a concept that will, in time, gain traction among drivers. "It's going to take a while to educate people," she said.
Car manufacturers support the concept and are increasingly producing vehicles designed for hands-free communication, Sachs said.
"The whole idea is keep your hands on the wheel," she said.
 

 

Texting-While-Driving Ban: Doug Holder, Florida Representative, Sponsors New Bill

 State lawmakers seeking to have Florida join the 39 states that prohibit texting while driving said they have gained the upper hand.

On Tuesday, state Rep. Doug Holder, a Sarasota Republican, filed a bill to make texting while driving a secondary offense under which a driver can receive a citation but only after being pulled over for a primary offense such as speeding or reckless driving.

Cell phone calls while driving would still be permitted under the bill, a companion to one filed in the Senate by Venice Republican Nancy Detert
Federal estimates show distracted driving contributes to 16 percent of all fatal crashes, leading to around 5,000 deaths every year, the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety reported.

"If you are texting while driving you are 23 times more likely to have an accident," Holder said. "I think the timing is right. I think we are going to get something passed.

"Generally conservatives are somewhat reluctant to let government have control. I am conservative but (distracted driving) has become an epidemic."

Holder said he's not aware of any opposition to the bill at this point.

He said the bill could be considered a compromise of sorts because it does not prohibit all use of handheld devices while driving, as laws in some states do. But he said he believes it is important to approve a texting law, especially because of widespread use by teen-agers.

"Teen-agers must realize that some behavior they do at their home or walking around the mall is not behavior behind the wheel, but we don't have anything on the books."

State Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Delray Beach, at a November rally in Tampa against distracted driving led by U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, said the distracted driving bills died in the Legislature before because of the libertarian leanings of former Republican House Speaker Dean Cannon.

Cannon has left office because of the term limits law.

The Reason Foundation, a California-based libertarian think tank, said in a report earlier this year that "cell phone usage has never been proven to cause accidents."

"While cell-phones can be distracting, so can many other features in cars. Is the next step to ban GPS units and car radios?" said a January blog post by Reason Foundation transportation policy analyst Baruch Feigenbaum.

The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety has said distracted driving consistently ranks as one of the traffic safety issues at forefront of many drivers' thinking.

"Each year, more than 80 percent of drivers in the annual AAA Foundation Traffic Safety Culture Index cite distraction as a serious problem and a behavior that makes them feel less safe on the road.
Holder's bill establishes unlawful use of a "wireless communications device" in a crash as a penalty of four points against a drivers license. A moving violation in conjunction with unlawful use of a wireless device within a school safety zone would carry of penalty of two points.

The bill says a person may not operate a vehicle while manually typing or entering letters, including texting, e-mailing and instant messaging.

Exceptions apply to operators of authorized emergency vehicles or others reporting an emergency or criminal or suspicious act to law enforcement.

Exceptions also apply to use of navigation devices and receiving radio broadcasts. 

 

Credit : Tampa Tribune

Transportation Dept. gives $550k to study texting-ban enforcement

So far, 39 states have some form of law against texting while driving, but it is a hard thing to enforce. Many drivers continue to text on the road, confident that the local smokies won't spot their sins.

That time might be over for Massachusetts and Connecticut, as the National highway Traffic Safety Administration has awarded $550,000 in order to develop methods to better spot texters in the act. Each state will receive $275,000 to conduct "high visibility anti-texting enforcement programs."

According to U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, "We have come a long way in our fight against distracted driving, but there is still much more work to be done." He continued, "Texting behind the wheel is especially dangerous, which is why we're working with states like Connecticut and Massachusetts to address this important safety issue."

While laws are in effect across the country, it is more difficult to detect texting than it is a driver placing a call on a cell phone. This initiative from NHTSA would develop techniques, such as spotters on overpasses and roving patrols, to determine the effectiveness of these practices. The program will be conducted over a two-year period, and the results will be made available to other states that are encountering texting and driving issues.

 

Press Release

U.S. Department of Transportation Gives Connecticut and Massachusetts $550,000 for Texting Ban Enforcement Demonstrations

Grants will allow States to Establish Best Practices for Enforcement Programs Aimed at Curbing Texting and Driving?

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) today announced it is providing $550,000 to Connecticut and Massachusetts to help them plan and conduct high-visibility anti-texting enforcement programs. Each state will receive $275,000 to develop and train police officers on better methods for spotting drivers who are texting, and to develop media techniques that alert the public to the perils of texting and driving.
"We have come a long way in our fight against distracted driving, but there is still much work to be done," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. "Texting behind the wheel is especially dangerous, which is why we're working with states like Connecticut and Massachusetts to address this important safety issue."

Today, 39 states have laws on the books that specifically ban texting and 10 states have laws that prohibit the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Despite such laws, prior demonstration programs conducted in Hartford, Connecticut, and Syracuse, New York, found that it is more challenging to detect a driver texting behind the wheel compared to drivers talking on a handheld device. The vast majority of tickets issued under those programs were for handheld phone use – about five percent of the citations issued across both communities were for texting violations.

"While it is relatively easier for law enforcement to determine illegal handheld cell phone use by observing the position of the phone at the driver's ear, the dangerous practice of texting while driving is often not as obvious," said NHTSA Administrator David Strickland. "These two new demonstration programs will help identify real-world protocols and practices to better detect if a person is texting while driving."

The demonstration grants announced today by NHTSA call for Connecticut and Massachusetts to develop anti-texting enforcement protocols and techniques such as using stationary patrols, spotters on overpasses on elevated roadways and roving patrols, to test their effectiveness in four successive waves of high-visibility enforcement activities over a 24-month period. The results of these demonstrations will be documented for the benefit of other states which are facing the same challenges.

 

Credit : Autoblog