Texas backers of a statewide texting & driving law will have at least two more years to wait. State Rep. Tom Craddick, left, said any texting-related deaths in that period would be "on the back of those senators" who refused to bring his distracted driving legislation to the Senate floor. The distracted driving plan, he said, "will not become law and will not help prevent future injuries or loss of life." Craddick's House Bill 80 was approved by the House in a 102-40 vote March 25. The bill was delayed in Senate committee by an opponent, and then fell one vote short of reaching the … [Read more...]
Oklahoma gets texting & driving ban
April 29, 2015 by 2 Comments
Oklahoma's state Legislature has approved a texting & driving ban that gives police powers of full enforcement. The governor signed the distracted driving act into law May 5. The final vote of 85-7 came in the House on April 29. The House previously OK'd a ban with secondary enforcement, but went along with the Senate's upgrade. That means police would be able to stop and cite offenders for texting alone. The fine for all offenses would be $100. No points vs. the driver's license. The law would go into effect Nov. 1, 2015. Oklahoma remained one of the few remaining states without a … [Read more...]
Texting tickets at highs in N.Y., California
April 13, 2015 by 1 Comment
Ticketing for texting & driving has hit record highs in New York and California, based on numbers just released for 2014. New York reports texting & driving tickets increased 35 percent in 2014. In California, texting tickets also increased in 2014, roughly 10 percent, but the overall number of distracted driving citations slumped significantly in the Golden State, from 426,360 to 359,292. Most distracted driving tickets in California are for cell phone use, which was down again in 2014, with texting making up less than 10 percent of tickets written for talking & driving. When it … [Read more...]
Mississippi OKs texting & driving law
March 10, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant has signed legislation banning texting by all drivers. It goes into effect July 1. His state had beem among the few remaining in the U.S. without a strong texting & driving law. House Bill 389 -- given final approval by the Legislature on March 10 -- also would outlaw social media use by drivers, but does not address cell phone use by drivers. Fines would begin at $25 but go up to $100 in summer 2016. (Updated with governor signing.) The final Senate vote in favor of HB 389 was nearly unanimous, with three senators voting against the plan. The House … [Read more...]
No texting admission, no ticket
December 14, 2014 by 1 Comment
The Washington Traffic Safety Commission is busy trying to push through a legislative rewrite of the state's outdated distracted driving law, which limits itself to texting while behind the wheel. The panel just released an online video that shows officers pulling over a pair of distracted drivers. Both drivers explain away their actions as something other than texting. One man says he was entering GPS data into a smartphone; another guy who was weaving repeatedly into a bike lane beats the ticket by saying he was checking his currency-trading updates. "Everything else you can do on your … [Read more...]
Recent Comments