Sarah Stelmok wrote a quick post today on her blog about the end of texting, as we know it. No longer (as of tomorrow) can we using our little multi-tasking devices of death while operating a motor vehicle in Virginia. This is a secondary offense for most drivers, which means that law enforcement must have cause to stop you for some other reason. My simply question is how do they know if I am dialing a friend or texting a friend? Regardless the answer, it’s never been a good idea to text or email while driving. Here are some related rules that I found on HandsfreeInfo.com:
Cell phone, text messaging news: A ban on text messaging goes into effect July 1. All legislation regarding handheld cell phones is dead for 2009.
Current prohibitions:
Drivers under the age of 18 are prohibited from using cell phones or text messaging.All drivers will be banned from text messaging effective July 1.
School bus drivers are prohibited from using cell phones or text messaging
2009 legislation:
HB 1876: Will prohibit text messaging while operating a motor vehicle. Takes effect July 1. Approved by the House and Senate and signed into law by Gov. Tim Kaine on March 30.HB 1615 — Delegate Algie Howell, D-Norfolk, has prefiled legislation to the 2009 General Assembly that would ban text messaging while driving. The ban would extend to bicycles and mopeds. Incorporated into HB 1876, above.
Virginia cell phone, texting legislation notes:
Delegate John Cosgrove, R-Chesapeake, is the author of the text messaging legislation HB 1876. Fines for those who drive and text will be $20 and then $50 for subsequent offenses.A spokesman for AAA told the Examiner that the secondary status of the new texting law — meaning police would have to have another, primary reason for pulling over drivers — makes it “tantamount to telling people you can do it.” Still, he called it a “moral victory.”
The younger-driver prohibitions went into effect in 2007. The prohibitions on school bus drivers became effective July 1, 2008.
“I believe this is a common-sense restriction on those new drivers who may be tempted to pay more attention to phone calls and text messages than the road, endangering themselves and other drivers,” Gov. Tim Kaine said of the 2007 law.
Virginia’s school bus cell phone/ texting law results in a primary offense; the teen driver law is a secondary offense.
I do think it’s worth noting that Delegate Bobby Mathieson, D-Virginia Beach has offered legislation that would stop drivers from using any device, even the telephone while driving. I think he’s been offering this for awhile and it’s been defeated each time.
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