Text messaging while behind the wheel will no longer be permitted in Idaho as of July 1. Gov. Butch Otter signed the Legislature's distracted driving measure April 5. The distracted driving law will receive primary enforcement -- police can stop and cite offenders for that reason alone -- but offenses are not moving violations. Also, there are no points assessed against the driver's license. The fine for texting & driving in Idaho will be $85. Idaho became the 37th state to outlaw text messaging while driving, following West Virginia by only two days. West Virginia also banned use of … [Read more...]
Distracted driving year in review
December 28, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The debate over distracted driving burned hotter than ever as 2011 ended, thanks to a controversial call for a total ban of cell phone use while behind the wheel. The year saw significant progress in the legislative war on against distracted driving. While some state laws prohibiting use of handheld cell phones took effect, most of the success came with bans of text messaging while driving. Here's a recap of the big distracted driving stories of 2011: New year, new laws (Jan. 1-2): Three states — Delaware, Kentucky and Kansas — see their new distracted driving laws take full effect as 2011 … [Read more...]
Pennsylvania bans texting & driving
November 1, 2011 by 3 Comments
Pennsylvania drivers will no longer be able to text message as of early March. Gov. Tom Corbett signed off on legislation Nov. 9 that bans texting while behind the wheel. Fines will be $50. Enforcement is primary, which allows police to pull over drivers for that infraction alone. "No text message is worth a human life," Corbett said during the bill-signing event. "The message of this legislation is drive now and text later." (This content first posted on Nov. 1 and updated on Nov. 9.) Pennsylvania has become the 35th state to outlaw texting while behind the wheel. The state's long-running … [Read more...]
3 new distracted driving laws
October 1, 2011 by 1 Comment
Motorists in Nevada, Maine and Maryland are now subject to new distracted driving regulations. Nevada's ban on text messaging and using handheld cell phones will driving officially went into effect Saturday, Oct. 1. Violators won't be punished for the next three months, though, as law officers are only issuing warnings until Jan. 1. Then it's on to fines that start at $50 and go to $250. In Maryland, legislators have completed their clean-up of the existing texting while driving law. As of Oct. 1, "reading" of text messages is illegal while driving in Maine. Previously, only the writing and … [Read more...]
Texting plan vetoed in Texas
June 17, 2011 by 3 Comments
Texas Gov. Rick Perry killed legislation Friday that would have banned texting while driving in Texas. Perry cited "the overreach of House Bill 242" and called it a "government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults." Texas already bans texting by teens. The bill would have extended that ban to all drivers. The veto means distracted driving legislation succeeded in 2011, although there were at least a dozen bills seeking to toughen the existing laws. There are numerous local laws against text messaging while in city limits. The Republican governor suggested that backers of distracted … [Read more...]
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