Laws Against Texting And Driving

First of all texting while driving is a dangerous and risky thing to do in our society. Texting while driving is illegal in almost all states. People are realizing how dangerous it can be and making it illegal. In an article called distracted driving only two states, Arizona and Montana had no bans on cell phones while driving and only one state had a partial ban which was Missouri. Everybody else had a full ban on texting and driving. In an article called 10 Programmatic Reasons that will make you stop texting and driving today, it said “As the correlation between auto accidents and texting while driving escalates, many municipalities and states are passing legislation making it illegal to text and drive.” This basically is explaining how texting while driving is becoming illegal in almost every state. The punishment for the first couple of times will just be a $100 fine but will increase if you're a repeat offender.. But do you really want to spend $100 on a fine when you could spend it on a new pair of shoes or your kid? Texting while driving is illegal and you can be fined.

Texting and driving was banned in 2011 in Indiana because of the overabundance of car accidents that involved cell phones and distracted driving. With this law in place, people thought that it would work and that people would stop using them while driving. This was not the case, however. In Indiana with the texting and driving ban there have only been, “fewer than 400 tickets written as of mid-2014” (Gormley 89). This is not surprising because cell phones are so modest that they are easily missed when police drive by cars. Texting and driving bans are used to better driving accidents, but are not always used to their full extent. On page 89 of "Indiana's Texting-While-Driving Ban: Why Is It Not Working and How Could It Be Better?", Gormley stated, “As it stands today, Indiana’s texting while driving statute contains gaping loopholes, which leave drivers free to engage in risky behaviors with little fear of legal repercussions” (Gormley 89). A loophole they have to get around are actually being able to see the driver texting while driving. Texting and driving bans are newer and do not have all the kinks worked out, but if more states begin using them they will become better used. Putting more of these bans into use will be able to work on all the kinks and better them to use to be more effective and save more lives.

The importance of texting while driving should be addressed to anyone obtaining a valid driver’s license and can operate a vehicle. This particular proposal should develop a direct impact on life because it gives people a chance to see what can happen if a person continue to text and drive. People really need to understand how easily it is take the life of someone else or even themselves. And most of the time in many cases relating to this particular problem, it is always is the age groups ranging from 16 years of age to 30 years of age. I wish that this problem can get resolved quickly to avoid many accidents and death. Some

Texting and driving should be illegal in all fifty states because of the catastrophic affects it has had on our country. It has become just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, than drunk driving. It kills thousands of people and injures hundreds of thousands annually. Whether people think they can shoot a text safely or they just aren’t aware of the dangers, it needs to come to a complete stop. To do this, laws need to be in place for any and all kinds of cellphone usage; adults, teenagers, elders, and bus drivers should be banned from picking up their phone while operating a vehicle. Consequences should also be in place for those who do not abide by them. No text is worth your life or anyone else’s.

Some states do more than others. In October 2013, the state of Florida passed a law that banned texting and driving. To some, this may seem like a good law, however, if we take a look at it we can see that it is actually very weak. In his article, “Florida Cell Phone & Texting and Driving Laws”, Rich Stim tells us that this law does not allow anyone to type or read any kind of messages while they are driving. He also points out that this law can only be enforced if a police officer pulls the driver over for another moving violation, making this a secondary enforcement law (Stim). So we can see that you can not be pulled over just for texting and driving, you need tone doing something else illegal first, such as maybe speeding or running red light or stop sign. If you do get a ticket for texting and driving, it is a non moving violation and the penalty is $30 (“The 2014 Florida Statues”). The State of Florida could do more to help decrease distracted driving.. According to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association, there are 14 states that have banned the use of hand held cell phones completely, while 38 states ban the use of cell phones by novice drivers (“Distracted Driving Laws”). There are 44 states that have banned texting while driving, and of those all but 5 are primary enforcement laws, which means that a police officer can pull you over and give you a ticket just for texting and driving (“Distracted Driving Laws”). Florida’s ban on texting could be stronger if it were made a primary enforcement law. The state could do more to prevent distracted driving if it would add a law that bans either all hand held cell phone use, or at lease put a ban on cell phone use for novice drivers as many of the other states have

Through the improvement and enactment of primary vs secondary laws and the enforcement of the former, would help minimize the number of accidents and fatalities. Ferdinand et al (2014) concluded, “Our analyses indicate that primarily enforced texting laws are associated with fatality reductions among younger individuals, both drivers and nondrivers [sic]” (p. 1375). By enabling law enforcement to better enforce a primary law that bans the act of texting while driving, the high number of fatal accidents would decline. But, some, if not most people nowadays, particularly the younger generation, would not respond as well to heavily enforced laws with accompanying fines. So, there must be a more attractive, extralegal option to discourage those who continue to tempt fate and drive distracted.

Have you ever lost a close friend or family member from them texting and driving or someone else texting and driving? I am sure you have been one to text and drive also as much as we hate to admit it. Would you want to be the one who killed yourself or someone just because of that one text? I have personally known two young girls who have been killed from texting and driving. Both were on the same road exactly five months apart. Here is why I believe every state needs a no texting and driving law to ensure that our roads are safe from those individuals who insist on texting while driving.

Texting while driving is an epidemic that has taken our nation by surprise. Over the last decade analysts have seen an increase in the number of accidents relating to texting and driving. Today many people think that they can type on their phones or while driving, without thinking that there is any real danger in the act of doing so. Something must be done to stop texting while driving. But what can be done though? How do we control this deadly action that many people do behind the wheel? The answer to this is that our government must take action by adding conformity to the laws and punishments rendered to the offenders. It is also important that the government give enough awareness and educational programs in order to spread the message about the dangers of texting and driving while behind the wheel.

Amy Norton’s 2015 article, states that enforcing texting while driving laws saw a decline in auto related hospitalizations by seven percent. This difference in hospital visits was especially seen in states that made texting while driving a primary offense. If texting while driving is simply kept as a secondary offense, many people will continue to do it at the expense of other’s lives. If texting while driving laws become a primary offense everywhere, police officers can stop accidents before they even start. This alone would save countless lives. Since studies involving strict cell phone laws have already been conducted and proven successful, there would be no drawbacks to enforcing these strict laws everywhere in the United States. In fact, once strict and consistent cell phone usage laws are enforced everywhere, the benefits will surely be even

First and foremost, if this law was to be passed in more states, there would most likely be less car accidents caused by texting and driving or talking on the phone. Texting and driving is one of the most known causes for car accidents. Texting while driving requires that person to take their eyes off the road to look at their cell phone. Taking phone calls can be just as dangerous, it also requires you to take your eyes off the road so you can find your phone, and then

In today's society, our moble devices have become our pirmary means of communication. While there have been many positive results from this improved technology, it has also created one very dangerous situation, distracted driving. Distracted driving has always been a problem with people changing radio stations, eating and drinking while driving, or simply looking at people walking down the street instead of keeping their eyes on the road. Texting and driving has created a far worse situation than any of these common distractions. Many laws have already been put in place to help curb this issue, but none of them have been very successful thus far. The question is: Is it time to enact laws against texting and driving as tough as drinking and driving laws?

Many states pass laws indicating that texting and driving is illegal or banned for say. For example in the article “Why Florida’s Texting and Driving Law Might Be Ineffective” published by WUFT sates that the bill SB 52 was signed by Rick Scott may 23 of 2013. This bill stated that texting and driving is banned and if you were pulled over for “distracted driving” then you would get points taken from the license of the driver. These punishments are

According to the study of the University of Utah texting car drivers are 8 times more likely to crash than a driving simulator. Even though many people don't think texting and driving isn't a big deal it's probably because only less than 20 states prohibit texting while driving. For example one of New York's laws states that drivers can be fined and allows police officers to penalize the driver if spreading on the road.

Fatality Analysis Reporting System concluded that “primarily enforced laws banning all drivers (teens and adults) from texting associated with a reduction in traffic fatalities in all age groups” (qtd "Research & Statistics." End Distracted Driving). This reduction includes an average of 19 people per state per year. With this law alone, an averaged total of 950 citizens can be saved every year! “States banning only young drivers from texting with primary enforcement had the greatest impact on reducing deaths among ages 15 to 21, and handheld bans appeared to be the most effective for adults” (qtd End Distracted Driving). Consequently, enforcement is the clear answer to distracted driving

Recent laws outlawing texting while driving have become ambiguous, under-inclusive and enforce light punishments that cannot be deterred. These laws also empower the police to carry out warrantless search for the cell phone of the driver. Texting while driving is highly dangerous and people doing so must be punished strictly, license suspensions, interlock devices preventing the usage of cell phones while driving and possible jail time (Arrigo, 2014). This particular paper is an attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of latest laws implemented against texting and driving.