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Should driving while texting be a crime? - MSN Money



Sending and receiving text messages has joined talking on a cell phone as a dangerous distraction for drivers. State legislators are taking notice.

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E-mail to a friendTools IndexPrint-friendly versionSite MapDiscuss in a Message BoardArticle IndexBy The Wall Street Journal
During the morning rush hour on Dec. 5, the 53-year-old driver of a blue Dodge Caravan was traveling north on Interstate 5 outside Seattle when he took his eyes off the road to scan an e-mail on his BlackBerry, the State Patrol says. And that's how he hit the white Mazda, which clipped the green Honda, which rammed the black Toyota SUV before spinning into the other lane and plowing into a city bus.

Nobody was seriously hurt. But the episode sparked a chain reaction of a different sort in the Washington State Legislature in the form of a bill that would make it a crime to "operate a motor vehicle while reading, writing or sending electronic messages."

"I think just about everyone realizes that text messaging while driving should not be acceptable," says Joyce McDonald, the bill's sponsor. But the Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives also recognizes that people call it "CrackBerry" for a reason: She cheerfully admits she'd probably scan her own device on the drive to work "if I didn't need my reading glasses to see e-mail."

Forget DWI. The big new traffic-safety issue is DWT: Driving While Texting.

McDonald is joining a crowd of politicians seeking a crackdown. In neighboring Oregon, pending bills would provide fines -- up to $720 in one of them -- for any driver caught texting or holding a cell phone to an ear. And in Arizona, a bill is pending that would make DWT a ticketable offense.

DWT is an extreme version of a whole new class of modern "distracted driving" issues lawmakers are wrestling with as electronic devices become an ever more important part of people's lives, in and out of their automobiles. Lawmakers are being encouraged by insurance companies like Allstate, which has added an e-mail fanatic to its stable of "multitasker" safe-driving ads. The campaign shows the "dedicated investor," who is balancing a BlackBerry and the business section of a newspaper on the wheel while he navigates his sports car through stop-and-go traffic. (Another scene in the ad shows a driver changing his trousers while blazing down the highway).


Sending and receiving text messages has joined talking on a cell phone as a dangerous distraction for drivers. State legislators are taking notice.

advertisement
Article Tools
E-mail to a friendTools IndexPrint-friendly versionSite MapDiscuss in a Message BoardArticle IndexBy The Wall Street Journal
During the morning rush hour on Dec. 5, the 53-year-old driver of a blue Dodge Caravan was traveling north on Interstate 5 outside Seattle when he took his eyes off the road to scan an e-mail on his BlackBerry, the State Patrol says. And that's how he hit the white Mazda, which clipped the green Honda, which rammed the black Toyota SUV before spinning into the other lane and plowing into a city bus.

Nobody was seriously hurt. But the episode sparked a chain reaction of a different sort in the Washington State Legislature in the form of a bill that would make it a crime to "operate a motor vehicle while reading, writing or sending electronic messages."

"I think just about everyone realizes that text messaging while driving should not be acceptable," says Joyce McDonald, the bill's sponsor. But the Republican member of the Washington House of Representatives also recognizes that people call it "CrackBerry" for a reason: She cheerfully admits she'd probably scan her own device on the drive to work "if I didn't need my reading glasses to see e-mail."

Forget DWI. The big new traffic-safety issue is DWT: Driving While Texting.

McDonald is joining a crowd of politicians seeking a crackdown. In neighboring Oregon, pending bills would provide fines -- up to $720 in one of them -- for any driver caught texting or holding a cell phone to an ear. And in Arizona, a bill is pending that would make DWT a ticketable offense.

DWT is an extreme version of a whole new class of modern "distracted driving" issues lawmakers are wrestling with as electronic devices become an ever more important part of people's lives, in and out of their automobiles. Lawmakers are being encouraged by insurance companies like Allstate, which has added an e-mail fanatic to its stable of "multitasker" safe-driving ads. The campaign shows the "dedicated investor," who is balancing a BlackBerry and the business section of a newspaper on the wheel while he navigates his sports car through stop-and-go traffic. (Another scene in the ad shows a driver changing his trousers while blazing down the highway).

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Driving while talking on cell phones has gotten the most legislative attention. Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, California and the District of Columbia outlaw the use of handheld phones while driving, and 38 states are currently considering 133 bills that would regulate their use behind the wheel, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

Some wireless-industry supporters argue that statutes barring texting while driving are too specific. What is needed, they say, is not narrowly focused legislation, but a campaign to educate the public about all driver distractions. In Washington, D.C., an industry lobby group called CTIA -- The Wireless Association has begun tracking legislation, including McDonald's bill, and scratching out a strategy to counter it.

"I don't think you'd find anyone who would say that trying to text and drive is not reckless behavior," says Joe Farren, spokesman for the group. "If you're being reckless, you should get a ticket." He adds that his group has taken no formal position on text-message bills such as McDonald's.

Reading and typing in traffic
Few driver distractions seem quite as frighteningly intrusive as attempting to read and type messages while weaving in traffic. The first reported incident of DWT may have been in Tennessee in 2005, when a man died while texting when he lost control of his pickup and plunged down an embankment. In Colorado that same year, a teenager served 10 days in jail after he struck and killed a bicyclist while texting a friend.

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Too many people spend money they haven't earned to buy things they don't want, to impress people they don't like. - Will Rogers

It should be a crime for those under age-my son's friend just got into an accident while she was doing this-luckily it was just a fender bender. Ican't even walk and chew gum at the same time....

It probably should be a crime - it is distracting enough for a lot of drivers to talk on the phone while driving, texting requires your eyes on the phone - not on the road (IMO)

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Bevogal

In NC, it is against the law to talk on the cell phone if you are 18 or younger and driving. You can only be on a cell phone if you are talking to your parents or a police officer. My son went to go get his permanent DL just recently and was asked if he had been convicted of the driving volition, of course he hadn't, but I didn't even know it passed. I'm glad, too many young ones on the phone as it is and the older ones just kill me. I have one, my children have one, but I only use it in emergency's and my children are only allowed to use it when they go off the Island so I can check in with them. They do a good job with theirs.

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Proud Single Mother to 18 year old Twins Ashley/Davey, 14 year old Shawna, 5 year old Emma, and my Boo Bear, "Angel Hope" (1996-1997) RIP Boo.

In the Denver area awhile back a teenager texting while driving ran over and killed a bicyclist. He was looking at his phone and not at the road. There are so many people who drive badly while on the phone - add texting and people drive much worse...how can you type and drive at the same time?

I'd be happy for talking (more than a few minutes without a "hands-free" set) AND texting to be a crime..."make-uping" too! I do not understand at all how a person could text, throw their head back while laughing and controlling the phone/car, or putting on mascara while driving.

Why do people feel the need to HAVE to do something else while driving? I can't even stand it when people call me at home on their phone while they're driving. The only exception being my brother, who has a "hands-free" set and only calls me when he's driving long highway trips. 9 times out of 10 when he would call during those trips, it's during off-peak driving hours - early afternoon, late evening, etc.

Especially people who are going to see me in less than 1/2 hour. Do you HAVE to call me? LOL! I think it's very nice when someone might call to see if I need anything from the store or something like that, but it doesn't need to turn into a 10 minute conversation.

I'm getting to the point I don't feel too sorry for people that get in accidents while "chit-chatting" when driving. (I do feel sorry for the people they hit.) I understand there are emergencies, or needing directions, or just a quick phone call, but I see sooooo many people you just know are yapping just because they feel like it. Why do people always have to take a good thing and find a ridiculous way to use (abuse?) it?

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This is a subject that really interests me. I was rear ended while stopped at a red light by a man who was on the cell phone. I had my 2 youngest kids with me also so I was really upset. I think you shouldn't talk on the cell phone or text on the phone in the car AT ALL. Any age, not just teens. Everytime I see a person driving and talking on a cell phone it really ticks me off. Pull off the road if you need to talk. People on the phone are so easy to spot, their speed goes up and down, they can't stay straight in their lanes, they almost forget to stop because they're so busy talking. I'd love to see people get pulled over and ticked for talking, texting while driving. That is a reall peev of mine.

Jen

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Mom to Jake, Zach & Meghan
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