3 more states enforcing DD laws

New year, new distracted driving laws.

Three states — Delaware, Kentucky and Kansas — saw their distracted driving laws take full effect as 2011 arrived.

In Delaware, the law against driving while text messaging or using a handheld cell phone went into effect Jan. 2. Penalties begin immediately: $50 (first offense), then $100 to $200 for subsequent violations.

Delaware’s distracted driving bans call for primary enforcement, meaning police can stop and cite motorists for violations without needing another reason. Also prohibited for drivers are Internet activities, game playing and use of PDAs and paging devices. Drivers are allowed to use their hands to enter numbers for a phone call or to engage hands-free accessories.

Authorities say there is no warning period in Delaware because the legislation was signed into law six months ago, followed by a statewide awareness campaign whose slogan is “You talk, you text, you pay.”

“This was put out almost 180 days ago, and so the public has been made aware of it,” a State Police spokesman told the Dover Post. “It’s a serious law that the Delaware State Police stands behind.”

Delaware state Rep. Darryl M. Scott’s legislation originally called for a complete ban on cell phone use while driving.

Kentucky drivers did have a waiting period — and it’s over. “Courtesy” warnings for violations of Kentucky’s new distracted driving law became a thing of the past come Jan. 1. The ban on texting by all drivers actually took effect July 15. Kentucky law also bans use of all personal communications devices by drivers under 18.

Fines for text messaging while driving in Kentucky are $25 (first offense) and then $50 for subsequent infractions, plus court costs.

Kansas also saw its grace period end for those who text behind the wheel. The Kansas ban on text messaging while driving was signed into law last summer by outgoing Gov. Mark Parkinson and the ticketing began Jan. 1. Citations cost $60 for every violation.

Drivers are barred from using a “wireless device to write, send or read a written communication.” Cell phone use remains OK for making and receiving calls, unless the driver is using a restricted license.

During the full Senate debate on the Kansas anti-texting bill, an opponent called the plan “popular, but dumb.” Sen. Jay Emler, R-Lindsborg, who drafted the measure, replied: “I don’t give a rat’s rear about being popular. It was drafted to save lives.”

Wisconsin’s ban on texting while driving went into effect Dec. 1.

Other states that saw distracted driving laws adopted or first enforced in 2011 include Maryland, Connecticut, Iowa, Vermont, Georgia, Michigan, Wyoming and Massachusetts.

(updated 1.2.11 to reflect laws in effect)

‘The Last Text’: distracted to death

Yeah. LOL. Where R. Where U At. All text messages that led to tragedy, as detailed in a new 10-minute “documentary” about distracted driving deaths.

AT&T’s “The Last Text” video — professionally produced and impactful — spends time with those affected by a handful of text messaging deaths: The sister who sent the fatal text; the youth who hit and killed a bicyclist; the passenger declared dead but who survived in a broken body; the mom of teen girl who throws a 19th birthday party for her dead daughter.

“All because of a senseless text message,” says a state trooper at the site of a girl’s distracted driving death. “It’s just sad. … What is worth losing your life over? That text message?”

Here is the AT&T video, released just before the most dangerous night of the year, New Year’s Eve (text continues below):

AT&T, one of the nation’s top cellular phone service providers, released the short documentary Dec. 27 as part of its “It Can Wait” texting safety program. The video will be distributed “to numerous government agencies and safety organizations around the country, as well as to educators, students and policymakers,” the telcom giant said in a press release. An accompanying video (on the AT&T site) shows students’ reactions to the video.

“The Last Text” has gone viral, but can be seen on the AT&T Facebook page and on the corporate Youtube channel.

The “It Can Wait” campaign began in March, as public awareness of distracted driving deaths skyrocketed.

DOT seeks big rig cell-phone ban

The federal Department of Transportation wants commercial drivers to shut up and drive.

The DOT released a plan Dec. 17 that would ban handheld cell phone use by interstate truckers and bus drivers.

“Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell phone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This proposed rule will go a long way toward keeping a driver’s full attention focused on the road.”

The DOT cannot tell states how to regulate their roadways — or outright ban electronic distracted driving — but it has authority over safety practices on interstate commercial vehicles. In this case, up to 4 million instate commercial drivers would be affected.

Use of a handheld cell phone while driving will cost a commercial driver up to $2,750 for each offense and possible revocation of their driver’s license (CDL) for repeated offenses. The motor carrier companies could be fined up to $11,000. Use of hands-free accessories would be allowed.

Text messaging already is banned by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (as of October).

The proposed FMCSA rule on cell phone use has entered a two-month comment period.

“Implementation of this proposal would help make our roads safer and target a leading cause of distracted driving,” said FMCSA chief Anne Ferro.

A long list of companies already has prohibited its drivers from cell phoning while on the road, the DOT noted, including UPS and Wal-Mart.

The trucking industry has been carefully watching any efforts to limit technology in its big rigs.

“We get that the trucking biz is hard,” DOT chief Ray LaHood said of the texting ban for interstate drivers. “We’re just trying to save lives.”

Fighting driving & texting in style

U.S. Transportation chief Ray LaHood signs BMW\’s Don\’t TXT & Drive vehicle, which tours teen driving schools. LaHood inspired the campaign, BMW said Dec. 9. Although BMW stepped up as an ally, LaHood has vowed to rein in interactive devices that automakers are bringing to market. (Photo: Jim Sulley)

Texas: Cell phoning, texting getting worse

Texting behind the wheel has gotten significantly worse in the past five years, say 85 percent of Texas drivers surveyed. 80 percent feel the same way about cell phoning while driving. This video from the Texas Transportation Institute runs down the numbers. (Read more about distracted driving in Texas.)

Wisconsin texting law hits the streets

Wisconsin’s long-awaited ban against driving and text messaging is now in effect.

Legislators, however, left a couple of loopholes for those motorists who can’t hardly wait for their messages:

While Wisconsin’s text messaging law makes writing and transmitting of messages illegal, it’s still OK to read an incoming text or surf the Net. The law only applies when the vehicle is moving, as well.

The bill that became Wisconsin’s anti-texting law was AB 496, pushed through by Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha (pictured).

Fines for first-time violators range from $20 to $400, with 4 points against the drivers license. Most tickets will cost violators $188, the Wisconsin State Patrol said. Texting is considered a primary offense, allowing officers to pull over and cite violators for that reason alone.

“We are trying to make people aware that we can’t bring our office and our living rooms into our cars,” said David Collins, head of the State Patrol. “We have to be very, very careful what we integrate into a vehicle moving.”

“No text message is worth a human life,” he said at a launch press conference Dec. 1 in Madison. Most drivers will receive warnings for the first month and a state awareness campaign begins Dec. 20, the Patrol chief said.

Wisconsin was the 25th state to ban text messaging in May, when the legislation was approved and signed into law by Gov. Jim Doyle. Thirty states now outlaw the practice in some form.

Critics of the texting legislation pointed to the existing inattentive driving law. Police say they’ll fall back on that law if other activities on handheld electronic devices lead to unsafe behaviors.

State officials say 18 percent of Wisconsin’s vehicle crashes in 2009 were caused by distracted drivers.