Alabama to Become 38th State to Ban Texting While Driving

William Messerschmidt
Principal Technical Analyst

Tomorrow, 01 August 2012, Alabama will become the 38th State to ban texting while driving. This new law was authored by Representative Jim McClendon of Springville. According to the Birmingham News and AL.com, Rep. McClendon (who is a doctor of optometry) worked on this bill for six years prior to seeing it passed.

The law states:

A person may not operate a motor vehicle on a public road, street, or highway in Alabama while using a wireless telecommunication device to write, send, or read a text-based communication. (Read the full text from the Legislature.)

The law offers four exceptional circumstances when it is permitted:

• Dialing a phone number to make a voice call is still permitted. 
• Texting, emailing, and using an Internet browser is permitted if you are parked on the shoulder of the roadway. 
• You may use text communications to obtain emergency services, such as police, fire, paramedics, or other emergency health services.
• You made read the screen of a GPS device while driving, but not program locations and coordinates. 

Violating the new law will be worth two points on a driver’s license, and fines will be $25, $50, and $75 dollars (for the first through third and subsequent offenses), and the law can be enforced by State Troopers, city police officers, and a county’s Sheriff’s office.

Although the author of this post is uncertain how emergency police, fire, or health services would be obtained by text messages and email, the law very likely has the ability to save lives and property. Furthermore, only five states in the US allow drivers to send text messages while driving (technically, there is no state law in Hawaii, but each county in Hawaii has an ordinance against it).

View a map created by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety of states that have banned texting and driving. 

New Anti-Distracted Driving Rules Announced at the 2010 Distracted Driving Summit

US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced at yesterday’s second national Distracted Driving Summit that the federal government is initiating a new rulemaking to limit commercial truck drivers’ use of all electronic devices while hauling hazardous materials, as well as seeking to ban text messaging by all drivers hauling hazardous materials.

These announcements came on the heels of last week’s proposed rulemaking submitted to the White House for final review, which would prohibit all truck drivers from texting while driving. It is likely that this rule will be published in the Federal Register as early as next week, in which case the rule would take effect in late October.

Read more about LaHood's announcements during yesterday's Distracted Driving Summit.

Learn about distracted driving and the summit at DOT's site.

Effective July 1: Kansas Safety Belt Law, Georgia Text Ban

Kansas Becomes 31st State to Pass Primary Safety Belt Law
Beginning July 1st, law enforcement officers can stop truckers for not wearing a safety belt in Kansas. Previously, Kansas law considered failing to wear a safety belt a secondary offense; it could only be enforced if the driver was stopped for another infraction, such as speeding. By passing the law, Kansas is eligible for $1 million in federal funds for public safety programs. Read an article by the Wichita Eagle.

Georgia Becomes 28th State to Ban Texting While Driving
Also beginning on July 1st, drivers in Georgia can receive a citation for texting while driving. The law bans sending a text message as well as reading an incoming text. However, Georgia Gov. Sonny Purdue indicated that the law may change in the future because of potentially confusing ramifications in the language. When a cell phone buzzes, the driver may not know whether it is a phone call or a text message without checking the phone. A law enforcement official may interpret checking a phone to be reading a text message. Read an article by the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

Maryland Bans Handheld Cell Phone Use While Driving; Wisconsin Bans Texting While Driving

Maryland is the latest state to ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving. On May 20, Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law a bill that makes it a secondary offense to be caught using a handheld cell phone while driving. This means an officer can enforce the law only after observing a driver committing another offense, such as running a stop sign.

Under the new law, which will take effect on October 1, drivers will be permitted to use a hands-free device for talking.

Wisconsin recently enacted a law banning texting while driving. On May 5, Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law a bill that makes it a primary offense to be caught texting on a mobile device while driving. The new law will take effect on December 1. With the Wisconsin ban, 50 percent of states have enacted a ban on texting. Governors Highway Safety Association’s executive director Barbara Harsha said that she expected another 10 to 15 states to act on a texting ban within the next year.

View a comprehensive list of all cell phone- and texting-while-driving bans by state.

Cell phone use while driving and text messaging while driving are just two examples of distracted driving. Learn more about distracted driving.

FMCSA Bans Text Messaging While Driving CMVs

On Tuesday, US Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced a ban on text messaging while driving for all commercial truck and bus drivers. The ban goes into effect today, 27 January 2010, and is the result of an administrative interpretation of 49 CFR 390.17.

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has provided regulatory guidance on this issue; read the rule in the Federal Register.

Transport Topics Online quoted American Trucking Association (ATA) President Bill Graves as saying, “ATA supports DOT’s action to ban the use of handheld wireless devices by commercial drivers to send or receive text messages while driving.”

Landline Magazine Online quoted Owner Operators and Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) Executive Vice President Todd Spencer, whose review was not as positive:

“We support where they are going, but not how they got there…. Making their action effective immediately bypasses normal regulatory rulemaking processes. Those processes allow actions to be vetted for unintended consequences, as well as potential implementation and enforcement problems.” 

The fine for texting while driving will be up to $2,750.00