A last-minute legislative maneuver derailed a texting & driving ban headed for the desk of Mississippi governor, who had planned to sign it. As a result, Mississippi will remain one of the few states without a complete ban on text messaging while behind the wheel. Both houses of the Legislature approved texting & driving measures. A conference committee resolved differences over the amount of fines to be paid by offenders, and the House and Senate approved the legislation April 1. It was headed to the governor, who said he looked forward to signing the distracted driving legislation "in … [Read more...]
Distracted Driving Awareness Month
April 1, 2014 by 1 Comment
April is Distracted Driving Awareness Month, entering its fourth year. As with past years, it's an event without an official sponsor, but law agencies are taking the opportunity to crack down on distracted drivers. Distracted driving sweeps and educational campaigns were announced in several major states, including California, Wisconsin and Tennessee. In California, for instance, four days -- April 3, 8, 17 and 22 -- have been earmarked for distracted driving sweeps. "The increased enforcement aims to persuade drivers to recognize the dangers of distracted driving and reduce the number … [Read more...]
Ontario plan: $1,000 plus points
March 17, 2014 by Leave a Comment
The Ontario government followed through with plans to crack down on distracted drivers, proposing maximum fines of $1,000 and three points vs. offenders' licenses. Transportation Minister Glen Murray, left, introduced the "Keeping Ontario's Roads Safe Act" on March 17. The increased penalties for handheld cell phone use and texting had been sought by safety advocates and law enforcement: "Everyone's been saying you've got to put (distracted driving) in the same range as drinking and driving," the minister said. The distracted driving changes were anticipated, and followed action by the … [Read more...]
Iowa distracted driving bill dies
March 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
Iowa won't be seeing an upgrade of its texting & driving law as distracted driving legislation missed a key deadline in the House. The Senate signed off on state Sen. Tod Bowman's SF 2289 on March 11, but the House didn't take action on the plan before the so-called "funnel deadline" of March 14. Bowman blamed House Speaker Kraig Paulsen for not pushing through the distracted driving measure. It is possible but highly unlikely the bill would be resurrected in 2014. Bowman's bill, as amended, targeted most forms of wireless communications by drivers, but not use of cell phones. Iowa … [Read more...]
Utah bolsters distracted driving law
March 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
Led by state Sen. Steve Urquhart, Utah has updated and enhanced its distracted driving law. The plan, given final approval by the governor April 1, adds a variety of electronic communication behaviors to the texting & driving already prohibited by state law. These include accessing the Internet; creating or viewing video; entering data data into a handheld wireless communications devices. Motorists are barred from "dialing" phone numbers, but they remain free to talk on cell phones. A Senate amendment allowed drivers to view and use GPS applications. Urquhart (pictured), a Republican, … [Read more...]
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