The New Jersey Legislature gave final approval June 28 to a measure allowing full prosecution of cell phone users if they drive recklessly and cause serious harm or death. The legislation is tagged Kulesh, Kubert and Bolis' Law, after New Jersey victims of distracted driving accidents. Handheld cell phone users causing serious crashes would be prosecuted under criminal homicide or assault-by-vehicle laws, with a presumption that they were driving recklessly. Penalties would include prison time and fines up to $150,000, similar to drunken driver punishments. The distracted driving measure … [Read more...]
$2.4 mil for Calif., Del. enforcement
June 7, 2012 by 1 Comment
U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood unveiled a "Blueprint for Ending Distracted Driving" that includes $2.4 million in funding for enforcement in Northern California and Delaware. LaHood's plan seeks to encourage the 11 states without distracted driving laws to take action, although there were no specifics on how this would be achieved. The new Department of Transportation plan also calls for the auto industry to adopt "new and future guidelines for technology to reduce the potential for distraction," but it was unclear if this signaled any kind of increased pressure on vehicle … [Read more...]
Ohio 39th state to ban texting, driving
June 1, 2012 by 1 Comment
Ohio became the 39th state to ban texting, as Gov. John R. Kasich signed a distracted driving measure into law. The ban takes effect 90 days after the June 1 signing, at the end of August. A six-month warning period will follow in which police will not write tickets but may make stops. The new Ohio law has two levels of enforcement: There is secondary enforcement for adults who text messaging while driving. This means that police need another reason to stop and cite violators, such as speeding. For drivers under the age of 18, however, texting and use of other portable electronic devices … [Read more...]
Judge: No liability for text sender
May 25, 2012 by 3 Comments
The argument that the sender of a text message could be held liable for a crash has been shot down by a New Jersey judge. The widely publicized case involved a distracted driving crash in which a husband and wife each lost a leg. They were riding a motorcycle in Mine Hill when struck by the driver of a pickup truck. The girlfriend of the young man driving the pickup truck text messaged him just before the accident. The driver responded with a text seconds before hitting the motorcycle. Kyle Best, 18 at the time of the 2009 accident, admitted that he had been texting on his cell phone before … [Read more...]
Ohio OKs weakened texting law
May 16, 2012 by 2 Comments
Ohio's long-running debate over distracted driving reached a major turning point as legislation banning texting and driving advanced to a receptive governor. The measure, however, did not succeed without controversy. The Senate heavily amended the original House proposal, limiting most enforcement to secondary status. The House went along, and House Bill 99 was sent to Gov. John Kasich, who indicated he would sign it. The law goes into effect 90 days after Kasich's approval. A warning period will begin at that time, with ticketing on hold for six months. The fine is $150. Ohio most likely … [Read more...]
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