Texting And Driving: Secondary Laws

In today’s society the traffic is very bad the highway is always jam packed and considering the new technology that is out in this time doesn’t help. Many people are driving with their phones in their hands. Either texting someone that they are on their way or changing the song on their playlist.

A secondary offense means, in most cases, an officer cannot pull over texting drivers unless they violate other laws such as speeding. In many states where enforcement of the law is only allowed as a secondary offense, it is frustrating for police officers to see someone texting while driving and have to let him go. Nonetheless, as mentioned above, messaging while driving is a great menace to the safety of all drivers and pedestrians. If police agencies do not stop drivers who are texting while driving, in some situations, dangerous accidents that are avoidable may occur. Furthermore, texting while driving as a secondary offense does not properly convey the seriousness of this behavior, and it is not strong enough to deter drivers from texting

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.

Things are not all bad, though. Laws concerning the use of phones in cars, and more specifically texting while driving are finally starting to see the light of day. According to Anne McCartt, the senior vice president of research at the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, a ban on hand-held phones in New York reduced use of such devices by about fifty percent. That was until use was re-measured the next year, finding that the “decline had dissipated substantially” (Politico). McCartt speculates this is due to poor enforcement, as a similar ban in Washington D.C. resulted in another fifty percent decline, only this one was sustained for more than a year after the law was put in place. Clearly strong enforcement is important, and well worth it; a fifty percent reduction in use of cell phones while driving is

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.

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.

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

Nearly 1.6 million car accidents are recorded each year, out of those accidents 330,000 result in injury or death (Edgar Snyder & Associates). Your life or someone else's life can change dramatically while driving just because someone was on their phone. Texting and driving is a real issue in our country and outside of spreading awareness or creating ineffective distracted driving laws. no one has really tried to solve this problem. Texting and driving is a problem because too many innocent lives are lost every day. The Government should implement an app that rewards people for not being on their phone while driving because so many people die every day from texting and driving.

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.

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

Many accidents are blamed on distracted driving and most of the distractions are caused by cell phone usage. However, some opponents feel that creating a law against cell phone use infringes their personal rights. Others think that banning someone from using their cell phones is equivalent to telling someone that they can't adjust their radio or chat with someone else in their car. However, using a cell phone, whether talking or texting, while driving can be extremely dangerous; it should be made illegal because it is very hazardous to yourself and the people surrounding you, can lead to the death of loved ones, and it is even compared to the danger level of drunk driving. No matter what age the driver is, under no

In the state of Florida, does not do enough to avert distracted driving. In October 2013, Florida passed its own law, which banned texting while driving, and with some exceptions. In October 2013, Florida established its own law, which banned texting behind the wheel, along few exceptions. In order to allow officers to pull over a driver for violating the texting ban, the driver has to have two offenses– primary and secondary enforcement acts. This means that drivers must be texting while driving, and committing some other traffic violation, such as speeding or running a red light. I believe that there should be a law for the state of Florida because more and more Floridians keeps losing their lives, by the cause of using cellphones behind

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.

Journal of American Health states just how effective primary enforcement laws can be when it comes to texting and driving. They conclude that 21 deaths per year, per state, can be prevented when these laws are enforced. In regards to the additional states with texting and driving laws, secondary laws are enforced. Secondary laws, different from primary laws, only allow Police Officers to ticket drivers for texting and driving, if this action is accompanied by a traffic violation (Official US Government Website for Distracted Driving). Primary laws have outshined in effectiveness in comparison to secondary laws. However, just because these laws are in place does not mean that the temptation to text and drive isn 't still present in the minds of American drivers.

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