Texting while driving
Encyclopedia
Texting while driving is the act of composing, sending, reading text messages, email
, or making other similar use of the web
on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle
. The practice has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor vehicle accidents
, and in some places has been outlawed or restricted. Texting while driving leads to increased distraction behind the wheel. In 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group conducted a survey of more than 900 teens from more than 26 high schools nationwide. The results showed that 37% of students found texting to be "very" or "extremely" distracting. A study by the American Automobile Association
discovered that 46% of teens admitted to being distracted behind the wheel because of texting.
Although talking on a mobile phone while operating a vehicle is considered dangerous, the threat really became an issue when texting was introduced. Texting has become a social norm fairly quickly since the year 2000, as most cell phone plans include a text messaging package. There has been a significant rise in smart phone sales with the popularity of the BlackBerry and iPhone, which allows people to communicate while they are doing practically anything. The dilemma is at what point do we chose safety over convenience[3]. Many studies have linked texting while driving to the cause of life-threatening accidents due to driver distraction. The International Telecommunication Union states that “texting, making calls, and other interaction with in-vehicle information and communication systems while driving is a serious source of driver distraction and increases the risk of traffic accidents”[4].
A 2009 experiment with Car and Driver
magazine editor Eddie Alterman that took place at a deserted air strip showed that texting while driving had a greater impact on safety than driving drunk. While legally drunk, Alterman's stopping distance from 70 mph increased by 4 feet; by contrast, reading an e-mail added 36 feet, and sending a text added 70 feet. While celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey
have campaigned against texting while driving, there are reports that the message has not been getting through to teenagers.
In the UK in 2009, Gwent Police
worked with film maker Peter Watkins-Hughes and production company Zipline Creative to create the graphic short film "Cow
", as part of a campaign to stop texting while driving. The film earned honors in the Advertising Age
's weekly Creativity Top 5 videos and became an overnight worldwide internet hit after being shown on the American news program The Today Show
.
Accident Research Centre provided strong evidence that retrieving and, in particular, sending text messages has a detrimental effect on a number of safety-critical driving measures. Specifically, negative effects were seen in detecting and responding correctly to road signs, detecting hazards, time spent with eyes off the road, and (only for sending text messages) lateral position. Mean speed, speed variability, lateral position when receiving text messages, and following distance showed no difference. A separate, yet unreleased simulation study at the University of Utah found a sixfold increase in distraction-related accidents when texting.
The low number of scientific studies may be indicative of a general assumption that if talking on a mobile phone increases risk, then texting also increases risk, and probably more so. 89% of U.S. adults think that text messaging while driving is "distracting, dangerous and should be outlawed." The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
has released polling data that show that 87% of people consider texting and e-mailing while driving a "very serious" safety threat, almost equivalent to the 90% of those polled who consider drunk driving a threat. Despite the acknowledgement of the dangers of texting behind the wheel, about half of drivers 16 to 24 say they have texted while driving, compared with 22 percent of drivers 35 to 44.
Texting while driving received greater attention in the late 2000s, corresponding to a rise in the number of text messages being sent. The 2008 Will Smith
movie Seven Pounds
deals with Smith's character committing suicide
in order to donate his organs
to help save the lives of seven people to make up for the seven people he killed in a car accident
because he was receiving a text message while he was driving. Texting while driving attracted interest in the media after several highly publicized car crashes were caused by texting drivers, including a May 2009 incident involving a Boston
trolley car driver who crashed while texting his girlfriend. Texting was blamed in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision
which killed 25 passengers. Investigations revealed that the engineer of that train had sent 45 text messages while operating. Despite these incidents, texting was still on the rise. A July 2010 Fairleigh Dickinson University
PublicMind poll found 25% of New Jersey voters admitted to sending a text while driving, which was an increase from 15% in 2008. This increase could be attributed to drivers over the age of 30 sending text messages. More than 35% of New Jersey drivers aged 30 to 45 and 17% of drivers over 45 admitted to having sent a text message while driving in the last year, an increase of 5–10% from 2008.
Several studies have attempted to compare the dangers of texting while driving with driving under the influence
. One such study was conducted by Car and Driver
magazine in June 2009. The study, carried out at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Michigan
, used two drivers in real cars and measured reaction times to the onset of light on the windshield. The study compared the reaction times and distances of the subjects while reading a text message, replying to the text message, and impaired. The study showed that at 35 mph, reading a text message decreased the reaction time the most, 0.12 and 0.87 seconds. Impaired driving at the same speed resulted in an increase of 0.01 and 0.07 seconds. In terms of stopping distances these times were estimated to mean:
On Sept. 29, 2010, the insurance industry’s Highway Loss Data Institute released research purporting to show that texting-while-driving bans in four states failed to reduce crashes and may instead have contributed to an increase in road accidents. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the study "completely misleading".
s as well as lighter vehicles driving six million combined miles, used video cameras to observe the drivers and road. Researchers observed 4,452 "safety-critical" events, which includes crashes, near crashes, safety-critical events, and lane deviations.81% of the "safety-critical" events involved some type of driver distraction. Text messaging had the greatest relative risk
, with drivers of heavy vehicles or trucks being more than 23 times more likely to experience a safety-critical event when texting. The study also found that drivers typically take their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of four out of six seconds when texting, and an average of 4.6 out of the six seconds surrounding safety-critical events. The study revealed that when traveling at 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s), a driver texting for 6 seconds is looking at the phone for 4.6 seconds of that time and travels the distance of a football field without their eyes on the road. Some of VTTI's conclusions from this study included that "texting should be banned in moving vehicles for all drivers", and that "all cell phone use should be banned for newly licensed teen drivers". The results of the study are listed in the table below.
Laws making it illegal to not only operate a mobile phone for voice calls while driving, but also texting, are becoming increasingly widespread. Only “eight states (Calif,. Conn., Del., Md., N.J., N.Y., and Wash.) D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving”[5]. Due to the statistics of teen drivers being more likely to text and drive and be involved in deadly crashes due to driver distraction, some states have tougher laws for new, or “novice” drivers. Although there is a discrepancy over what age is the cutoff for a “novice” driver, the majority of states define “novice” as a driver who is 18 or younger. North Carolina is one of 28 states that ban “novice” drivers from operating a mobile phone while driving a vehicle[6].
North Carolina made their anti-texting and driving law effective on December 1, 2009, making it unlawful “to operate a vehicle on a public street, highway, or public vehicular area while using a mobile telephone to manually enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person”[7].
, Nunavut
, and Yukon
) have yet to enact bans.
In 2010, the province of Alberta introduced Bill 16 - Alberta's first distracted driving legislation. While the bill is not law yet, the government and several media outlets have publicly discussed what will and won't be allowed under the law.
, California
, Colorado
, Connecticut
, Delaware
, District of Columbia, Georgia
, Illinois
, Indiana
, Iowa
, Louisiana
, Maryland
, Massachusetts
, Michigan
, Minnesota
, Nevada
. New Hampshire
, New Jersey
, New York
, North Carolina
, Oregon
, Tennessee
, Utah
, Vermont
, Virginia
, Washington, Wisconsin
, and Wyoming
. The state of Texas
prohibits school bus
drivers from texting while transporting a child under 17. The states of Indiana
, Kansas
, Mississippi
, Missouri
, Nebraska
, Texas and West Virginia
have laws restricting those who are underage and/or with learner's permit
s from texting while driving. Laws enacted in 2010 by Kentucky
and in 2011 by Indiana
banned texting for all drivers, as well as cell phone usage by all drivers under 18. The latter feature is unusual in that holders of unrestricted licenses are subject to the ban; most states that have banned cell phone usage by young drivers apply their laws only to holders of restricted or graduated licenses.
In Florida
, a proposed bill known as "Heather's Law" would ban all cell phone use while driving. The law was inspired by the death of Heather Hurd, who was killed in an accident
allegedly caused by a truck driver who crashed into 10 cars when he was sending a text message behind the wheel.
On October 1, 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced President Barack Obama
's signing of an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles, among other activities. According to Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood
, “This order sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable. It shows that the federal government is leading by example." As a part of a larger move to combat distracted driving, the DOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA) launched the public information website distraction.gov.
On January 26, 2010, the US Department of Transportation announced a federal ban on texting while driving by truckers and bus drivers.
The use of telematics
to detect drunk driving and texting while driving has been proposed. A US patent application combining this technology with a usage based insurance product was open for public comment on peer to patent
. The insurance product would not ban texting while driving, but would charge drivers who text and drive a higher premium.
In addition to technological solutions to address the issue of texting while driving, drivers may consciously read and sign a pledge to never text while driving. After drivers read and sign the pledge, they remember their pledge each time they have an urge to text while driving. While there is not a fix all solution to this problem, each and every small initiative helps. The pledge can be found at I Will Not Text and Drive.
Apple's iPhone 4S
is equipped with the "Siri
" voice control system, essentialy allowing for texting whilst driving, without the user taking their eyes off the road.
Another argument can be made against the wording of the texting bans. Instead of banning the act of writing or reading that distracts a person from driving, such as reading a book, writing notes on a piece of paper or writing text using a keyboard of a phone, the laws mostly ban the act of sending text messages and do not say anything about how the messages were created. Using voice recognition technology, text messages can be created with eyes and hands free, and without ever engaging in the act of reading or writing.
Email
Electronic mail, commonly known as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages from an author to one or more recipients. Modern email operates across the Internet or other computer networks. Some early email systems required that the author and the recipient both be online at the...
, or making other similar use of the web
Mobile Web
The Mobile Web refers to the use of Internet-connected applications, or browser-based access to the Internet from a mobile device, such as a smartphone or tablet computer, connected to a wireless network....
on a mobile phone while operating a motor vehicle
Driving
Driving is the controlled operation and movement of a land vehicle, such as a car, truck or bus.Although direct operation of a bicycle and a mounted animal are commonly referred to as riding, such operators are legally considered drivers and are required to obey the rules of the road...
. The practice has been viewed by many people and authorities as dangerous. It has also been ruled as the cause of some motor vehicle accidents
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
, and in some places has been outlawed or restricted. Texting while driving leads to increased distraction behind the wheel. In 2006, Liberty Mutual Insurance Group conducted a survey of more than 900 teens from more than 26 high schools nationwide. The results showed that 37% of students found texting to be "very" or "extremely" distracting. A study by the American Automobile Association
American Automobile Association
AAA , formerly known as the American Automobile Association, is a federation of 51 independently operated motor clubs throughout North America. AAA is a not-for-profit member service organization with more than 51 million members. AAA provides services to its members such as travel, automotive,...
discovered that 46% of teens admitted to being distracted behind the wheel because of texting.
Although talking on a mobile phone while operating a vehicle is considered dangerous, the threat really became an issue when texting was introduced. Texting has become a social norm fairly quickly since the year 2000, as most cell phone plans include a text messaging package. There has been a significant rise in smart phone sales with the popularity of the BlackBerry and iPhone, which allows people to communicate while they are doing practically anything. The dilemma is at what point do we chose safety over convenience[3]. Many studies have linked texting while driving to the cause of life-threatening accidents due to driver distraction. The International Telecommunication Union states that “texting, making calls, and other interaction with in-vehicle information and communication systems while driving is a serious source of driver distraction and increases the risk of traffic accidents”[4].
A 2009 experiment with Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine editor Eddie Alterman that took place at a deserted air strip showed that texting while driving had a greater impact on safety than driving drunk. While legally drunk, Alterman's stopping distance from 70 mph increased by 4 feet; by contrast, reading an e-mail added 36 feet, and sending a text added 70 feet. While celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American media proprietor, talk show host, actress, producer and philanthropist. Winfrey is best known for her self-titled, multi-award-winning talk show, which has become the highest-rated program of its kind in history and was nationally syndicated from 1986 to 2011...
have campaigned against texting while driving, there are reports that the message has not been getting through to teenagers.
In the UK in 2009, Gwent Police
Gwent Police
Gwent Police is the territorial police force responsible for policing the local authority areas of Blaenau Gwent, Caerphilly, Monmouthshire, Newport and Torfaen in southeast Wales....
worked with film maker Peter Watkins-Hughes and production company Zipline Creative to create the graphic short film "Cow
Cow (public service announcement)
Cow is a public service announcement film directed by Peter Watkins-Hughes with assistance from the Gwent Police Department and Tredegar Comprehensive School. The August 2008 film was a co-production by Gwent Police and Tred Films, with special effects by Zipline Creative Limited...
", as part of a campaign to stop texting while driving. The film earned honors in the Advertising Age
Advertising Age
Advertising Age is a magazine, delivering news, analysis and data on marketing and media. The magazine was started as a broadsheet newspaper in Chicago in 1930...
's weekly Creativity Top 5 videos and became an overnight worldwide internet hit after being shown on the American news program The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
.
Research
The scientific literature on the dangers of driving while sending a text message from a mobile phone, or driving while texting, is limited. A simulation study at the Monash UniversityMonash University
Monash University is a public university based in Melbourne, Victoria. It was founded in 1958 and is the second oldest university in the state. Monash is a member of Australia's Group of Eight and the ASAIHL....
Accident Research Centre provided strong evidence that retrieving and, in particular, sending text messages has a detrimental effect on a number of safety-critical driving measures. Specifically, negative effects were seen in detecting and responding correctly to road signs, detecting hazards, time spent with eyes off the road, and (only for sending text messages) lateral position. Mean speed, speed variability, lateral position when receiving text messages, and following distance showed no difference. A separate, yet unreleased simulation study at the University of Utah found a sixfold increase in distraction-related accidents when texting.
The low number of scientific studies may be indicative of a general assumption that if talking on a mobile phone increases risk, then texting also increases risk, and probably more so. 89% of U.S. adults think that text messaging while driving is "distracting, dangerous and should be outlawed." The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety
The AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety is a non-profit, charitable organization based in Washington, DC that is dedicated to saving lives through traffic safety research and education...
has released polling data that show that 87% of people consider texting and e-mailing while driving a "very serious" safety threat, almost equivalent to the 90% of those polled who consider drunk driving a threat. Despite the acknowledgement of the dangers of texting behind the wheel, about half of drivers 16 to 24 say they have texted while driving, compared with 22 percent of drivers 35 to 44.
Texting while driving received greater attention in the late 2000s, corresponding to a rise in the number of text messages being sent. The 2008 Will Smith
Will Smith
Willard Christopher "Will" Smith, Jr. , also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor, producer, and rapper. He has enjoyed success in television, film and music. In April 2007, Newsweek called him the most powerful actor in Hollywood...
movie Seven Pounds
Seven Pounds
Seven Pounds is a 2008 film, directed by Gabriele Muccino. Will Smith stars as a man who sets out to change the lives of seven people. Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, and Barry Pepper star. The film was released in theaters in the United States and Canada on December 19, 2008, by Columbia Pictures...
deals with Smith's character committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
in order to donate his organs
Organ donation
Organ donation is the donation of biological tissue or an organ of the human body, from a living or dead person to a living recipient in need of a transplantation. Transplantable organs and tissues are removed in a surgical procedure following a determination, based on the donor's medical and...
to help save the lives of seven people to make up for the seven people he killed in a car accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
because he was receiving a text message while he was driving. Texting while driving attracted interest in the media after several highly publicized car crashes were caused by texting drivers, including a May 2009 incident involving a Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
trolley car driver who crashed while texting his girlfriend. Texting was blamed in the 2008 Chatsworth train collision
2008 Chatsworth train collision
The Chatsworth train collision occurred at 16:22 PDT on Friday September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States...
which killed 25 passengers. Investigations revealed that the engineer of that train had sent 45 text messages while operating. Despite these incidents, texting was still on the rise. A July 2010 Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University
Fairleigh Dickinson University is a private university founded as a junior college in 1942. It now has several campuses located in New Jersey, Canada, and the United Kingdom.-Description:...
PublicMind poll found 25% of New Jersey voters admitted to sending a text while driving, which was an increase from 15% in 2008. This increase could be attributed to drivers over the age of 30 sending text messages. More than 35% of New Jersey drivers aged 30 to 45 and 17% of drivers over 45 admitted to having sent a text message while driving in the last year, an increase of 5–10% from 2008.
Several studies have attempted to compare the dangers of texting while driving with driving under the influence
Driving under the influence
Driving under the influence is the act of driving a motor vehicle with blood levels of alcohol in excess of a legal limit...
. One such study was conducted by Car and Driver
Car and Driver
Car and Driver is an American automotive enthusiast magazine. Its total circulation is 1.31 million. It is owned by Hearst Magazines, who purchased prior owner Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S. in 2011...
magazine in June 2009. The study, carried out at the Oscoda-Wurtsmith Airport in Oscoda, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, used two drivers in real cars and measured reaction times to the onset of light on the windshield. The study compared the reaction times and distances of the subjects while reading a text message, replying to the text message, and impaired. The study showed that at 35 mph, reading a text message decreased the reaction time the most, 0.12 and 0.87 seconds. Impaired driving at the same speed resulted in an increase of 0.01 and 0.07 seconds. In terms of stopping distances these times were estimated to mean:
- Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
- Legally drunk: add 4 feet
- Reading e-mail: add 36 feet.
- Sending a text: add 70 feet
On Sept. 29, 2010, the insurance industry’s Highway Loss Data Institute released research purporting to show that texting-while-driving bans in four states failed to reduce crashes and may instead have contributed to an increase in road accidents. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called the study "completely misleading".
Virginia Tech Transportation Institute Study
On July 27, 2009, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released preliminary findings of their study of driver distraction in commercial vehicles. Several naturalistic driving studies, of long-haul truckTruck
A truck or lorry is a motor vehicle designed to transport cargo. Trucks vary greatly in size, power, and configuration, with the smallest being mechanically similar to an automobile...
s as well as lighter vehicles driving six million combined miles, used video cameras to observe the drivers and road. Researchers observed 4,452 "safety-critical" events, which includes crashes, near crashes, safety-critical events, and lane deviations.81% of the "safety-critical" events involved some type of driver distraction. Text messaging had the greatest relative risk
Relative risk
In statistics and mathematical epidemiology, relative risk is the risk of an event relative to exposure. Relative risk is a ratio of the probability of the event occurring in the exposed group versus a non-exposed group....
, with drivers of heavy vehicles or trucks being more than 23 times more likely to experience a safety-critical event when texting. The study also found that drivers typically take their eyes off the forward roadway for an average of four out of six seconds when texting, and an average of 4.6 out of the six seconds surrounding safety-critical events. The study revealed that when traveling at 55 miles per hour (24.6 m/s), a driver texting for 6 seconds is looking at the phone for 4.6 seconds of that time and travels the distance of a football field without their eyes on the road. Some of VTTI's conclusions from this study included that "texting should be banned in moving vehicles for all drivers", and that "all cell phone use should be banned for newly licensed teen drivers". The results of the study are listed in the table below.
| Cell phone task | Risk of crash or near event crash |
|---|---|
| Light Vehicle Dialing | 2.8 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Light Vehicle Talking/Listening | 1.3 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Light Vehicle Reaching for object (i.e. electronic device...) | 1.4 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Heavy Vehicles/Trucks Dialing | 5.9 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Heavy Vehicles/Trucks Talking/Listening | 1.0 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Heavy Vehicles/Trucks Use/Reach for electronic device | 6.7 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
| Heavy Vehicles/Trucks Text messaging | 23.2 times as high as non‐distracted driving |
Notable crashes
- On August 29, 2007, Danny Oates was killed by a young driver of a car, allegedly texting while driving. The defense had argued that driver Jeffrey Woods had possibly suffered a seizure during the time of the accident.
- On January 3, 2008, Heather Leigh Hurd was killed by a truck driver who allegedly was texting while driving. Her father Russell Hurd has been actively supporting a law in various U.S. states called Heather's Law that would prohibit texting while driving.
- The 2008 Chatsworth train collision2008 Chatsworth train collisionThe Chatsworth train collision occurred at 16:22 PDT on Friday September 12, 2008, when a Union Pacific freight train and a Metrolink commuter train collided head-on in the Chatsworth district of Los Angeles, California, in the United States...
, which killed 25 people, and which occurred on September 12, 2008, was blamed on the operator sending text messages while operating the train.
- In May 2009, a crash occurred on the MBTA Green Line in the Boston area of the MBTA, when a driver, 24-year-old Aiden Quinn, was text messaging his girlfriend while driving the train. The crash, which injured 46 people, was estimated by MBTA officials to have cost $9.6 million.
- Beverly Hills plastic surgeon Frank Ryan's fatal crash on August 16, 2010 may have been the result of distracted driving due to texting.
Laws by location
A number of countries ban all cell phone use while driving (talking and texting).Laws making it illegal to not only operate a mobile phone for voice calls while driving, but also texting, are becoming increasingly widespread. Only “eight states (Calif,. Conn., Del., Md., N.J., N.Y., and Wash.) D.C. and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving”[5]. Due to the statistics of teen drivers being more likely to text and drive and be involved in deadly crashes due to driver distraction, some states have tougher laws for new, or “novice” drivers. Although there is a discrepancy over what age is the cutoff for a “novice” driver, the majority of states define “novice” as a driver who is 18 or younger. North Carolina is one of 28 states that ban “novice” drivers from operating a mobile phone while driving a vehicle[6].
North Carolina made their anti-texting and driving law effective on December 1, 2009, making it unlawful “to operate a vehicle on a public street, highway, or public vehicular area while using a mobile telephone to manually enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person”[7].
Canada
All provinces have banned both talking on hand-held phones and texting while driving. The country's territories (Northwest TerritoriesNorthwest Territories
The Northwest Territories is a federal territory of Canada.Located in northern Canada, the territory borders Canada's two other territories, Yukon to the west and Nunavut to the east, and three provinces: British Columbia to the southwest, and Alberta and Saskatchewan to the south...
, Nunavut
Nunavut
Nunavut is the largest and newest federal territory of Canada; it was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the Nunavut Act and the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement Act, though the actual boundaries had been established in 1993...
, and Yukon
Yukon
Yukon is the westernmost and smallest of Canada's three federal territories. It was named after the Yukon River. The word Yukon means "Great River" in Gwich’in....
) have yet to enact bans.
In 2010, the province of Alberta introduced Bill 16 - Alberta's first distracted driving legislation. While the bill is not law yet, the government and several media outlets have publicly discussed what will and won't be allowed under the law.
United Kingdom
Any use of a hand-held mobile phone or similar device whilst driving, or supervising a learner driver, is illegal. This includes being stopped at traffic lights. The only exceptions are emergency calls to 999 or 112.United States
Texting while driving has been outlawed or is soon to be outlawed for all drivers in the following states: ArkansasArkansas
Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
, District of Columbia, Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
. New Hampshire
New Hampshire
New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, North Carolina
North Carolina
North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte...
, Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, Utah
Utah
Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...
, Vermont
Vermont
Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, Washington, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
, and Wyoming
Wyoming
Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High...
. The state of Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
prohibits school bus
School bus
A school bus is a type of bus designed and manufactured for student transport: carrying children and teenagers to and from school and school events...
drivers from texting while transporting a child under 17. The states of Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
, Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
, Texas and West Virginia
West Virginia
West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east...
have laws restricting those who are underage and/or with learner's permit
Learner's permit
A driver's permit, learner's permit or learner's license, is a restricted license that is given to a person who is learning to drive, but has not yet satisfied the requirements to obtain a driver's license...
s from texting while driving. Laws enacted in 2010 by Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
and in 2011 by Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
banned texting for all drivers, as well as cell phone usage by all drivers under 18. The latter feature is unusual in that holders of unrestricted licenses are subject to the ban; most states that have banned cell phone usage by young drivers apply their laws only to holders of restricted or graduated licenses.
In Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, a proposed bill known as "Heather's Law" would ban all cell phone use while driving. The law was inspired by the death of Heather Hurd, who was killed in an accident
Car accident
A traffic collision, also known as a traffic accident, motor vehicle collision, motor vehicle accident, car accident, automobile accident, Road Traffic Collision or car crash, occurs when a vehicle collides with another vehicle, pedestrian, animal, road debris, or other stationary obstruction,...
allegedly caused by a truck driver who crashed into 10 cars when he was sending a text message behind the wheel.
On October 1, 2009, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
's signing of an Executive Order directing federal employees not to engage in text messaging while driving government-owned vehicles, among other activities. According to Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood
Ray LaHood
Raymond H. "Ray" LaHood is a Republican politician from Illinois who is currently the United States Secretary of Transportation, having served since 2009. Previously, he represented the Illinois's 18th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives for seven terms .-Early life and...
, “This order sends a very clear signal to the American public that distracted driving is dangerous and unacceptable. It shows that the federal government is leading by example." As a part of a larger move to combat distracted driving, the DOT and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is an agency of the Executive Branch of the U.S. government, part of the Department of Transportation...
(NHTSA) launched the public information website distraction.gov.
On January 26, 2010, the US Department of Transportation announced a federal ban on texting while driving by truckers and bus drivers.
Existing laws
| State | Effective | Restriction | Penalty | Other details | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama Alabama Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland... |
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| Alaska Alaska Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait... |
September 1, 2008 | House Bill 8 prohibits drivers from using electronic devices with a visual display (e.g. televisions or computers) while driving. The law does not specify cell phones, though it can be interpreted this way, and is seen as a ban on texting and driving. | not specified | Violators guilty of misdemeanor. If death is caused by violation, violator is guilty of a felony. | details |
| Arizona Arizona Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix... |
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| Arkansas Arkansas Arkansas is a state located in the southern region of the United States. Its name is an Algonquian name of the Quapaw Indians. Arkansas shares borders with six states , and its eastern border is largely defined by the Mississippi River... |
October 2009 | All drivers, regardless of age or experience, prohibited from sending text messages while driving | Known as HB1013 or "Paul's Law." Exempts emergency service providers in the provision of services. | ||
| California California California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area... |
July 1, 2009 | Prohibits sending electronic text messages while driving | $76 first offense $175 each subsequent offense |
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| Colorado Colorado Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains... |
December 1, 2009 | Prohibits sending text messages, email, or tweets while driving | $50 first offense $100 second offense |
Also prohibits drivers under 18 from talking on a cellphone while driving | |
| Connecticut Connecticut Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately... |
October 1, 2006 | All handheld cell phone use banned | $100 first offense $150 second offense $250 third or subsequent offense |
Also prohibits drivers under 18 and school bus drivers carrying passengers from talking on a cellphone while driving | |
| Delaware Delaware Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania... |
January 2, 2011 | Banned for all drivers | Also prohibits drivers under 18 from talking on cell phones while driving | ||
| District of Columbia | All handheld cell phone use banned | ||||
| Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... |
Legal | ||||
| Georgia Georgia (U.S. state) Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788... |
July 1, 2010 | Prohibits writing, sending, or reading any text-based communication, including via internet; also prohibits drivers under 18 with provisional licenses from talking on cell phones while driving. | Up to $150 | ||
| Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of... |
Illegal to use most electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle | ||||
| Idaho Idaho Idaho is a state in the Rocky Mountain area of the United States. The state's largest city and capital is Boise. Residents are called "Idahoans". Idaho was admitted to the Union on July 3, 1890, as the 43rd state.... |
Legal | ||||
| Illinois Illinois Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,... |
Jan. 1, 2010 | Illegal | |||
| Indiana Indiana Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is... |
July 1, 2011 | All drivers prohibited from reading or sending text messages. Drivers under 18 prohibited from using cell phones for any purpose. | |||
| Iowa Iowa Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New... |
July 1, 2010 | Prohibits reading, writing, and sending text messages. | |||
| Kansas Kansas Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south... |
May 24, 2010 | Illegal | Warnings until January 1, 2011. After that date: $60 | ||
| Kentucky Kentucky The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth... |
July 15, 2010 | House Bill 415 prohibits the following:
|
Warnings until January 1, 2011. After that date:
|
Drivers 18 and over allowed to read, select, and enter phone numbers or names in order to make a call. All drivers allowed to use GPS features, and drivers 18 and over allowed to enter data for GPS purposes at all times. | |
| Louisiana Louisiana Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties... |
August 15, 2010 | SB9 prohibits the following: Text messaging ban for all drivers. | Primary enforcement begins Aug. 15, 2010:
|
Drivers under 18 years old may not use wireless devices — including cell phones, text-messaging units and computers — while operating motor vehicles
|
|
| Maine Maine Maine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost... |
September 26, 2011 | Prohibits texting while driving | Fine of $100 for first offense | ||
| Maryland Maryland Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east... |
July 1, 2009 | Prohibits writing or sending text messages while operating motor vehicle or while in the travel portion of the roadway. | Fine up to $500 | Exception for use of GPS or emergency situations. | |
| Massachusetts Massachusetts The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010... |
July 6, 2010 | Prohibits drivers from sending a text or instant message, use of electronic mail, Internet access, using a phone for GPS navigation, and all of the above on electronic devices including phones, laptops, pagers, or other hand-held devices | First offense: $100, second offense: $250, and 3rd offense: $500; If one is under 18, 1st offense: $100 fine in addition to a 60-day license suspension, and attend a mandatory "attitude" class. 2nd offense: $250 fine and a 180-day suspension. 3rd offense: $500 fine and a-one year suspension. | GPSs are still allowed. Use of a phone is banned to all people under 18. Once 18, a driver can make hands-free calls. Also, the bill requires anyone over 75 to get a driving test every five years and take a vision test. | |
| Michigan Michigan Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake".... |
July 1, 2010 | Reading, typing, or sending while vehicle is moving | $100 first offense $200 each subsequent offense |
Exception for use of GPS or emergency situations. | |
| Minnesota Minnesota Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state... |
August 1, 2008 | Any form of text messaging while driving is illegal, and is considered a petty misdemeanor statewide. | Up to $300. | Also prohibits drivers under 18 from talking on a cellphone while driving; GPS and cell phone usage still allowed. | |
| Mississippi Mississippi Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi... |
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| Missouri Missouri Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It... |
Illegal for children, teens and adults younger than 21. Legal for citizens over the age of 21. | ||||
| Montana Montana Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,... |
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| Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River.... |
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| Nevada Nevada Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its... |
July 1st, 2011 | All cell phone and GPS usage is illegal | $50 First offense, $100 second offense, $250 and six-month license suspension | ||
| New Hampshire New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian... |
Jan. 2010 | Illegal | |||
| New Jersey New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware... |
March 1, 2008 | Using handheld or texting while driving is illegal, hands-free are not permitted for GDL holders | Between $100 and $250 | ||
| New Mexico New Mexico New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S... |
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| New York New York New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east... |
2009 | Illegal | |||
| North Carolina North Carolina North Carolina is a state located in the southeastern United States. The state borders South Carolina and Georgia to the south, Tennessee to the west and Virginia to the north. North Carolina contains 100 counties. Its capital is Raleigh, and its largest city is Charlotte... |
December 1, 2009 | Illegal | |||
| North Dakota North Dakota North Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States of America, along the Canadian border. The state is bordered by Canada to the north, Minnesota to the east, South Dakota to the south and Montana to the west. North Dakota is the 19th-largest state by area in the U.S.... |
August 1, 2011 | Illegal | |||
| Ohio Ohio Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus... |
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| Oklahoma Oklahoma Oklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state... |
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| Oregon Oregon Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern... |
1/2010 | House Bill 2377 prohibits all drivers from using a mobile communication device while operating a motor vehicle. A mobile communication device is defined as "a text messaging device or a wireless, two-way communication device designed to receive and transmit voice or text communication."
House Bill 2872 prohibits drivers that are under 18 years of age from using any type of mobile communication device such as a cell-phone. This includes text-messaging and does not allow for hands-free operation of a cell-phone. This law applies if you are under 18 and driving with a provisional drivers license, a special student driver permit, or a instruction driver permit. |
Minimum fine of $142.00 | HB 2377 exempts use of hands-free devices by all drivers 18 and over; some drivers who use a mobile communications device while driving if the vehicle is necessary for the person’s job; and some drivers who use radios (CB-style) while in the scope of their employment. | |
| Pennsylvania Pennsylvania The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to... |
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| Rhode Island Rhode Island The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area... |
2009 | Illegal | |||
| South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence... |
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| South Dakota South Dakota South Dakota is a state located in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is named after the Lakota and Dakota Sioux American Indian tribes. Once a part of Dakota Territory, South Dakota became a state on November 2, 1889. The state has an area of and an estimated population of just over... |
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| Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area... |
July 1, 2009 | All drivers prohibited from transmitting or reading a written message while vehicle is in motion | Up to $50 Plus court costs not to exceed $10 |
Also known as Senate Bill 393. | |
| Texas Texas Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in... |
Sept. 1, 2009 | Cell phone usage is prohibited in school zones | $50 for school zones where posted | Operators of passenger buses may not use a cell phone if minors are on board as well as drivers in the intermediate stage for the first 12 months are also banned. Austin TX, texting while driving is banned effective Jan 2010 | |
| Utah Utah Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the... |
May 2009 | Illegal | First Offence: Class C misdemeanor Second Offence: Class B misdemeanor Automatic Class B misdemeanor if the person inflicted serious bodily injury upon another as a proximate result of using a handheld wireless communication device for text messaging or electronic mail communication while operating a moving motor vehicle |
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| Vermont Vermont Vermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England... |
June 1, 2010 |
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| Virginia Virginia The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there... |
2009 | Illegal | |||
| Washington | 2010 | Illegal | The fine for the offense is $124 | text messaging or cell phone use without a hands free device is a primary offense | Do Not Text and Drive putting others at risk. |
| West Virginia West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian and Southeastern regions of the United States, bordered by Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Ohio to the northwest, Pennsylvania to the northeast and Maryland to the east... |
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| Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is... |
December 1, 2010 |
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Signed into Law: May 5, 2010 | Wisconsin DOT |
| Wyoming Wyoming Wyoming is a state in the mountain region of the Western United States. The western two thirds of the state is covered mostly with the mountain ranges and rangelands in the foothills of the Eastern Rocky Mountains, while the eastern third of the state is high elevation prairie known as the High... |
July 1, 2010 | Sending message from any electronic device while driving declared illegal. | $75 for first offense. |
Using technology to address the problem
In 2009 it was reported that some companies, including iZUP, ZoomSafer, Aegis Mobility, and cellcontrol by obdEdge employ systems that place restrictions on cell phone usage based on the phone’s GPS signal, data from the car itself or from nearby cellphone towers.The use of telematics
Telematics
Telematics typically is any integrated use of telecommunications and informatics, also known as ICT...
to detect drunk driving and texting while driving has been proposed. A US patent application combining this technology with a usage based insurance product was open for public comment on peer to patent
Peer to patent
The Peer To Patent project is an initiative that seeks to assist patent offices in improving patent quality by gathering public input in a structured, productive manner...
. The insurance product would not ban texting while driving, but would charge drivers who text and drive a higher premium.
In addition to technological solutions to address the issue of texting while driving, drivers may consciously read and sign a pledge to never text while driving. After drivers read and sign the pledge, they remember their pledge each time they have an urge to text while driving. While there is not a fix all solution to this problem, each and every small initiative helps. The pledge can be found at I Will Not Text and Drive.
Apple's iPhone 4S
IPhone 4S
The iPhone 4S is a touchscreen slate smartphone developed by Apple Inc. It is the fifth generation of the iPhone, a device that combines a widescreen iPod with a touchscreen, mobile phone, and internet communicator. It retains the exterior design of its predecessor, iPhone 4, but is host to a range...
is equipped with the "Siri
Siri (software)
Siri is an intelligent software assistant and knowledge navigator functioning as a personal assistant application for iOS. The application uses a natural language user interface to answer questions, make recommendations, and perform actions by delegating requests to a set of web services...
" voice control system, essentialy allowing for texting whilst driving, without the user taking their eyes off the road.
Criticism of bans
One argument against banning texting while driving is that it is safe and helpful under some circumstances. For example, a driver in a traffic jam might safely, and usefully, send a text message rescheduling an appointment. In addition, products like FleetSafer, MobileSafer and TeenSafer are now available in Canada (www.itiinternational.com) that suppress the use of cell phone keyboards and screens, prohibiting texting, emailing or browsing. However, ZoomSafer safe driving products permit calls to be made using Bluetooth in-vehicle or other devices in a hands free manner reducing the associated risks of distracted driving. Using MobileSafer and VoiceMate also permits the sending of voice messages to other parties.Another argument can be made against the wording of the texting bans. Instead of banning the act of writing or reading that distracts a person from driving, such as reading a book, writing notes on a piece of paper or writing text using a keyboard of a phone, the laws mostly ban the act of sending text messages and do not say anything about how the messages were created. Using voice recognition technology, text messages can be created with eyes and hands free, and without ever engaging in the act of reading or writing.
See also
- Distracted drivingDistracted drivingDistracted driving, a replacement phrase for the more popular terms "texting while driving" and "talking while driving," is what occurs when a driver has something other than driving on his mind. Driving becomes subsequent in importance to another activity that is happening inside the car, truck...
- Mobile phones and driving safetyMobile phones and driving safetyMobile phone use while driving is common, but dangerous. Due to the number of accidents that are related to cell phone use while driving, some jurisdictions have made the use of a cell phone while driving illegal. Others have enacted laws to ban handheld mobile phone use, but allow use of a...
- Cell phone bans (on talking) by country