Katherine Rogers

Distractions while driving abound.  In recent years, lawmakers have sought to limit the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Now, legislators are focusing their attention on a far more deadly distraction—text messaging while driving.  The increasing sophistication of telephones, which can send text and picture messages, have drivers—particularly younger ones—staring at their cell phones instead of the road.

A recent study found text messaging while driving to be far more dangerous than talking on the phone.  Drivers who simply talked on cell phones were distracted and had slower reaction times but they tended to stay in their own lane.  Drivers who looked away from the road to use electronics, on the other hand, were significantly more likely to leave their lane. An estimated 18 percent of drivers admit to sending or receiving text messages while behind the wheel, according to a Nationwide Insurance study.  That number doubles when drivers 18 to 24 are isolated.  

Highly-publicized accidents attributed to driving while texting underscore the dangers of the practice.  In 2005, a Colorado teen hit and killed a bicyclist while texting behind the wheel.  In 2006, thirty children were injured when their bus driver—allegedly text messaging while driving—lost control of the bus.  And texting was a possible factor in the crash that killed five New York teenagers last June, just a week after they graduated from high school. A text message was sent by the driver's phone just seconds before the accident.  

 "While electronic devices make our lives easier, they pose a huge threat when used while driving,” said New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Moriarty. To date, 24 states have considered legislation to limit text messaging while driving, though only four states—Louisiana (SB 137), Minnesota (HF 3800), New Jersey (SB 1099), and Washington (HB 1214)—have enacted laws banning the practice. The California Legislature also passed a ban this session (SB 28), which is currently awaiting the Governor's signature.  (Twenty-nine states and the District of Columbia have laws limiting hand-held cell phone use while driving.) 

A number of states also have considered or passed measures specifically targeting young drivers.  Indiana (HB 1112) prohibits learner's permit or probationary license holders from using any type of mobile communications device while driving.  "Despite the faith we have in our teenaged children, it is important that they learn appropriate driving habits without distractions," said Indiana Representative Joe Micon.  Rhode Island (HB 7067) and Massachusetts (HB 4477), among others, have also considered legislation prohibiting all drivers under the age of 18 from using phones for calls or texting. 

Emergency personnel and drivers sending text messages in emergency situations are exempt from penalty under the anti-texting laws.  

Some bills require law enforcement to collect data on cell phone use and its role in accidents and other offenses.  "There's an absence of data in a lot of cases in traffic safety," says Justin McNaull of the American Automobile Association.  "It's nice to know the size of the problem and if you're having an impact on it." 

How to Enforce?
Enforcement of text messaging bans is extremely difficult because the police must rely almost solely on driver honesty.  Opponents of the text messaging bans argue that the new laws put undue burden on law enforcement to identify and stop behavior that can be difficult to observe.  As a California teen noted in an Associated Press story, "There's no way a cop could see if you're texting under the steering wheel."  Even so, a number of states require that cell phone use, if implicated in the cause of an accident, be noted on the citation.  Improving data collection may reveal the threat posed by texting behind the wheel and may encourage other states to examine the issue.