Florida, banned from manually typing or reading texts

Hope be 200, dollars fine, driving and texting is danger.

Non moving?
Explain that one to the poor soul who just got rear ended by someone who decided to text or read one while driving. The 30.00 fine is absurd and would not be a deterrent. In my neck of the woods a parking ticket is far greater than that, the proposed legislation is a joke.

■In Chicago, all drivers talking on mobile phones must use hands-free devices. Text messaging prohibited while driving. Fines: $100-$500.

This one is never enforced in my region.

A non-moving violation means no points on your license. If you got hit, there are other things they can hit the other driver with, like reckless driving.

On February 1, 2010, police will begin issuing tickets for using hand-held cell phones and communications and entertainment devices while driving in Ontario.

Drivers caught using a hand-held device will be issued a $155 ticket.

Since the ban on hand-held devices became Ontario law on October 26, 2009, the focus has been on educating drivers about Ontario's new road rules for hand-held wireless communication and entertainment devices. This education period gave drivers a chance to adjust to the new law.

The distracted driving law makes it illegal for drivers to talk, text, type, dial or email using hand-held cell phones and other hand-held communications and entertainment devices. Hands-free use of these devices is permitted. The new law also prohibits the viewing of display screens unrelated to driving such as laptop computers or DVD players.

Police, paramedics and firefighters, as well as some commercial drivers and public service workers may continue to use certain hand-held devices when performing their duties. All drivers may use hand-held devices to call 9-1-1.

Quick Facts

Since the ban on hand-held devices became Ontario law, the Ontario Provincial Police have issued more than 3,300 warnings to drivers.
Studies show that a driver using a cell phone is four times more likely to be in a crash than a driver focused on the road. Dialing and texting carry the highest degree of risk of all cell phone-related activities.
If a driver challenges the ticket in court, a judge has the discretion to adjust the fine anywhere in the range of $60 to $500.

With speech to text it would be easier to obey the law and at least send a text. IIRC from the Ford Sync video of several years ago it allows you to both send and receive texts through the car, hands free.

does the law also include the cops who text and drive while on duty?

So you can talk to a phone to send a text, and then the phone can use speech synthesis to read a text back to you. Might as well just talk to them...

Seriously though, the $30 fine for this is way too low to act as a deterrent. It is scary how many times someone passes me while they are texting.

GA has a ban on texting and driving and can stop you if they see you, without the need of another reason for stopping you. The problem is it has not slowed down texting and driving one bit, too difficult to enforce. The only thing that will stop it is making phones incapable of receiving/sending texts while moving, which does not have support at the moment. Maybe someday.

As discussed in other threads here, that will prove to be a significant inconvenience for the passengers in a car, or for people riding on a bus or train.

I've ceased being surprised by anything coming from Tallahassee. I wonder how many of those old white guys who voted for the $30 penalty don't know what texting is.

Down here in south Florida. You can allways tell when someone it either on the phone or texting. They are allways in the fast lane going slower than everyone else. I have seen more accident close calls from normal people trying to get around these inconsiderate people. Yet The real kicker was last Monday I was on a 6 lane major road in Fort Lauderdale. A guy was in the inside lane doing 30 mph(traffic trying to move at 45mph) on the phone texting with Broward County Sherriff behind him for over 2 miles without stopping him. I watched from the right lane as the guy almost hit 2 pedestrians and almost rear ended a Pepsie truck. After watching this I finally figured out why the officer never pulled him over
>>>>> THe officer was on the phone texting TOO. <<<<<

Sad but true. No good if existing laws are not enforced!

Floriduh (SB52)

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/22/3109627/texting-and-dr...

It does seem to me that it is an attempt to satisfy both the "safety" and the "liberty" constituencies and, if passed, will probably fail all around.

C peeps all time txting while driving here, brb

Sorry, kndergrdn class in xwalk.

(joke)

In other parts of the country, it would cost more than a couple Benjamins, or felony charge would be filed if resulting any property or bodily damage.

http://tinyurl.com/bowmvs9

You can expect to be pulled over and ticketed in Oregon if caught talking on a hand held cell phone or texting. Fine is $142 plus costs.

Hopefully more states will impose stricter penalties to attempt to curb this serious safety issue.

These days I'm seeing drivers severly lacking common courtesy and are becoming more and more aggresive.
Add texting to the mix and it's a recipe for disaster. This should get as much attention as DWI since drivers are not in control and may potentially kill innocent people or themselves.
I see no message important enough that can't be answered or sent that could be accomplished by pulling off the road.

If you are ever behind someone who is texting while driving, it looks like you are following a drunk driver. They are continually swerving and their speed is erratic. Personally, I think hands free should be implemented nationally. Everyday I see people driving, talking on their cell phones, and not really paying attention to driving. In many cases, I have been close to being hit by these distracted drivers. Hands free would help the situation, but not totally alleviate the issue.

The real issue is getting people to realize they need to devote their attention to driving first, and pull over safely somewhere if they need to handle anything else. Mobile phones are just the current addiction. I'm sure people fiddling with the radio have caused plenty of wrecks over the last several decades.

Unfortunately, I have no idea how to spread that message to the people who need it. I also wonder why I see so many people trying to hold their coffee and mobile phone simultaneously while driving -- do cars no longer come with cup holders? I remember buying the kind that clip into the window track before they were standard equipment.

Nothing new up here in the province of Ontario in Canada. It is spearding and should be for good reason.

I hope other states take this on as well, but $30 is a hand slap. It needs to be at least $200 as far as I'm concerned.

Does anyone here drive with their phones off? I do. People think I'm crazy, like what would happen if there's an accident, or someone needs to reach me in an emergency? Life was exactly like that, what 15 years ago? Most of the conversations/texts are unimportant anyway. I turn my phone on when I need to use it, then turn it right back off. And it's not while driving.

Have to agree with muell9k on this. $30 is next to no fine at all for something like this. I think texting while driving is nearly as dangerous as driving under the influence. Actually, I think I know some people who drive better than texters after they've had a few.

Here in BC, it's a $167 fine, and 3 points on your license for not using hands free. People still do it though a lot.

One of the things that bugs me about texting is when people do it at a red light. The light turns green, and people are waiting for these fools to notice it! My horn has been getting a workout lately, needless to say.

I've been to traffic court a few times in NYC and invariable, there are about eight or nine out of ten people trying in futility to defend themselves from cellphone summonses.

They write those summonses by the thousands here and yet half the people on the road have one hand on the wheel and the other hand supporting the phone they're yammering into.

If you try to estimate the enforceability of this law here by what you see drivers doing here, you will be incredibly wrong.

FWIW I wouldn't mind seeing summonses written for pedestrians crossing streets while on cellphones. Better yet, mandatory investigations from Child Protective Services for crossing a red light with a baby in a stroller while yammering into a cellphone. It's one thing to deal with the indignant hipsters thinking traffic lights don't apply to them but the clueless ignoramuses are a huge problem here.

BTW see http://dwdk.org/ for some activism re distracted driving.

I agree with all the other comments here: $30 is too low. One of the problems with low fine amounts like this is that police don't see it as an enforcement priority and may not bother to write the ticket because it's not worth the paperwork and time to go to court. If they don't go to court and the defendant shows up, the charge is dismissed.

A lot of people here are talking about laws requiring the use of hands free while talking on the phone. The FL law does not address this, it is simply a fine (secondary at that). Making it so a law enforcement officer has to pull them over for something else first, then see them texting added to a low fine most people will take their chances and won't slow them down texting. I still support the phones making it impossible while moving, while inconvenient for passengers, the death of someone hit from texting and driving is at least equally as inconvenient for the surviving family. I don't think the phone limitation will ever exist, the best we can hope for is making it equal to a DUI offense, but call it a DWT to differentiate.

NO

Agree they need the electric chair, if they kill anybody with texting

Make it a $400 fine. Only steep penalties will make them think twice about this deadly practice!

I blame the schools for teaching kids how to read and write.

The phones maybe smart, the people using them, that's a different story.

We need another presidential commission to look into the problem, I knew vice presidents were good for something.

Texting ban should be nationwide and loss of license for a year should be the punishment. If an accident is caused, the fine should be $25,000 and no license for 5 years. Make strong examples and make it stick.

I agree with everyone that texting while driving is a widespread problem here (and I've been guilty myself ). However, until they enforce texting laws like they do/did seatbelt laws it will not change much. In most of the US (despite whatever laws/fines) the risk of getting caught is low and people are willing to trade-off for the convenience/urge/addiction of texting.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DebhWD6ljZs

Somewhat graphic in content, not for those who are easily upset, but that being said, this video is an excellent deterrent to those who think the practice of texting or talking on a phone whilst driving is inconsequential.

It is only the last decade or so that this technology has become invasive to the public's safety when drivers are caught up in the fact that their social life is more important. Before cell phones and such with all the new technology of texting we had to wait to exchange communication even if deemed important. Messages can wait, save a life, pay attention to driving first, leave the phone off when you get in the car.

Nothing is worth killing yourself or someone else on the road who you may not know.

....just passed a law similar to this.

A $30 fine isn't a preventative, it's just a texting tax. Perhaps they're trying to cash in rather than change driver's behavior?

If the schmucks in Albany NY would pass a mandatory 30 Jail Sentence for anyone involved in an accident while texting most of the problem would go away here in NYC.

Last summer while in very heavy bumper to bumper traffic on the Van Wick Expressway, a clown in a beautiful Mercedes GL450 SUV behind me was texting. Every time he had to stop he came within inches of my rear bumper. After the third or forth time this happened I took out the baseball bat from the rear seat walked up to his truck and very calmly said to the jerk "If you so much as tap my bumper at one mile per hour because you are not paying attention, I will smash every window and light on you freeking Mercedes". Needless to say he put the phone away and moved into a different lane.

No I do need anger management classes and I am very calm and in control of my emotions. However when I am in a situation where others are endangering my life or property because of reckless disregard of common sense I will take appropriate action.

Good idea.