Two years later, no N.Y. texting ban

This weekend marks the second anniversary of the horrific crash that killed five teenage girls from the Rochester, N.Y., area. Investigators found that the driver was text messaging just before the girls’ SUV collided with a truck.

New York’s cities and counties have been actively banning text messaging by drivers in the years since the crash. Ontario County, where the teenagers’ crash occurred, outlawed texting while driving in April.

(July 17 update: A ban on texting while driving has been approved by the Senate and Assembly, and now awaits the governor’s signature. It is expected to take effect Nov. 1.)

Just days ago, Broome County and Ulster County enacted laws against texting while driving. Earlier in the month, Greene and Dutchess counties approved bans on using wireless devices to send text messages and email. No doubt the looming anniversary played some role in getting these bans approved.

The state was among the first in the nation to adopt a cell phone ban, back in 2001, but text messaging and emailing behind the wheel were not significant factors at the time.

The state Assembly and Senate have taken turns blocking and ignoring text messaging legislation. This month, a plan backed by Assembly Transportation chief David Gantt – ironically, a longtime impediment to a texting ban — has advanced to the Senate, where it’s blowing in the political winds.

Clearly, local politicians are doing the job of state legislators who either fail to recognize the tragic toll of texting while driving, or fail to act. In no other state is the divide so vast between what citizens want on this issue and what state politicians do.

Car-crash scene no thriller

There’s a new release in the genre of scary PSAs about teens who text message while driving.

Students from Treorchy Comprehensive School in Wales worked on the half-hour film “Cow,” which tracks the character Cassie Cowan and her friends as they temp fate in various ways while behind the wheel — speeding, drunken driving.

The final flirtation with death comes as the kids send and read text messages on a handheld phone. The results are horrific; the message is clear.

A Florida foundation recently produced a similar text messaging video, with an almost identical ending. Fade to eternal black.

(Update: A city councilman in Boston cited this video as inspiration for his legislation that would ban text messaging in that city.)

N.Y. Assembly OKs texting ban

The drawn-out drama over a statewide New York ban on text messaging while driving could be headed for a happy ending.

The New York Assembly on June 17 approved a bill that bans texting while on the road. Assembly Bill 8568 also places more restrictions on teen drivers. Violations would bring a $150 fine.

“I’m optimistic that we will get it done as soon as the Senate reconvenes,” said Assemblyman Felix Ortiz, D-Brooklyn, referring to a leadership battle that has paralyzed the upper legislative body. Ortiz (pictured) saw his stalled text-messaging legislation get new life as it was incorporated into A8568.

Under the bill, banned activities related to handheld electronic devices include reading or sending text messages, sending or receiving images, surfing the Net and playing video games.

The bill was spearheaded by Assembly Transportation Committee Chairman David Gantt, D-Rochester, who has been widely cited as an impediment to a New York text messaging ban. New York has enforced a statewide ban on drivers’ use of handheld cell phones since 2001.

In the absence of action from Albany, many cities and counties in New York have adopted their own bans on text messaging while behind the wheel. (View the New York local texting laws.) The plan is to continue these local bans until Nov. 1, when the state law would supersede them.

Gantt infuriated legislators a few weeks ago as he refused to meet with a mother whose son died as he was texting and driving. New York has suffered a string of tragic accidents linked to teenagers texting while driving.

‘Death by Cell Phone’ campaign

The National Safety Council is following up on its sobering “Death by Cell Phone” video by placing roadside billboards in 67 markets nationwide. The campaign’s message will reach more than 1 million drivers, the NSC predicts.

The campaign tells of two deaths linked to cell phone-using drivers: Joe, a 12-year-old from Michigan and Linda, a 61-year-old from Oklahoma. The “Death by Cell Phone” billboards show pictures of the two victims of distracted driving, and give the URL for the 5-minute video.

The father of Joe and the daughter of Linda speak of their families’ tragedies and make pleas for the banning of cell phone use while driving.

The name of the campaign comes from Linda’s daughter Jennifer Smith, who says of her loss: “I just call it death by cell phone.”

Earlier this year, the National Safety Council made news by calling for a total ban on cell phone use by U.S. drivers. (continued)

The NSC cites the following annual statistics:

• Cell phone use is involved in 6 percent of crashes.
• Cell phones are a factor in 636,000 accidents a year.
• 12,000 serious injuries result from talking while driving.
• 2,600 fatalities can be linked to cell phone use by motorists.

Nationwide Insurance and Lamar Advertising are sponsors of the cell phone safety campaign.

Boston fires cell-phoning driver

Employees of the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority are having a tough time grasping the concept of absolutely no cell phones on the job.

In early June, The Boston transit agency suspended its first worker for a violation of its strict cell phone policy. He exited a train wearing a Bluetooth wireless device and had a cell phone in a bag. A second offense means termination.

Now comes word that a bus driver found a way to bypass the MBTA policy. He stopped his bus, borrowed a cell phone from a passenger and then started yapping away.

As he wandered on and off the bus with the borrowed cell, he allowed new passengers to board without paying, apparently too busy to take fares. Meanwhile a few fare-payers cooled their heels while waiting their operator to get the hell off the phone.

The whole thing was taped by the bus video camera and reported by a neighbor. The four-year driver was sacked Thursday, for making an unauthorized stop.

The transit agency’s crackdown began after almost 50 people were injured when a trolley operator in Boston crashed into the rear of another trolley while sending a text message to his girlfriend. The May 8 crash inspired an immediate city ban on drivers of trolleys, trains, and buses having cell phones in their possession while working.

The MBTA policy went into effect on May 18.

No more texting for N.C. drivers

North Carolina’s Legislature has banned text messaging by all drivers. HB 9 cleared the Senate and was ratified on Thursday, June 9, 2009.

The North Carolina anti-texting legislation was sent to Gov. Beverly Perdue, who has indicated she will sign it.

The House vote was nearly unanimous, but the Senate result was split 30-18, with the usual issues raised by Republicans about the difficulty of enforcement.

The North Carolina texting law goes into effect Dec. 1 barring a change heart by the governor.

Fines for most drivers will be $100 in addition to court costs. No points or insurance increases will result from the infraction. School bus drivers, already singled out in a state cell phone ban, would be subject to texting misdemeanors with fines starting at $100.

North Carolina drivers over the age of 18 are permitted to use cell phones with or without a hands-free device.

Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, was the texting bill’s creator in the House. He has said of the enforcement arguments: “I feel that’s true. But the point we were trying to make: If law-abiding citizens understand the importance of having safe highways, we would hope that they would respect the law and do the right thing.”

Sen. Bill Purcell, D-Scotland, agreed: “There are North Carolinians who will go by the law whether you stop them and give them a ticket or not.”

The bill prohibiting text messaging by North Carolina drivers was first approved by the House Ways and Means and Broadband Connectivity Committee on April 1. The House Judiciary Committee gave its approval on April 14. The full House backed the bill on April 16, in a 104-5 vote. The Senate approved HB 9 on June 9, in a 30-18 vote.