Tag: text and drive

More Support for Federal Law to Reduce Highway Funding Available to States That Do Not Prohibit Text Messaging While Driving

This past summer a bill was introduced in the United States Senate to require states to adopt federally set minimum penalties for writing, sending, or reading text messages while driving. The bill requires states to pass laws prohibiting text messaging or forfeit 25 percent of highway financing, which would amount to losing hundreds of millions in federal transportation funds. States would have two years to comply and could recover lost funds once they passed acceptable laws.

A companion bill has been introduced in the House. The Senate bill is called the Alert Drivers Act of 2009 and is also known … Read the rest

Texting While Driving Is More Dangerous Than Drunk-Driving; Is Jail-Time Warranted?

A study by the Transport Research Laboratory, a British center for transport research, has suggested that texting while driving is riskier than driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs. Texting adversely effects drivers’ reaction times, steering control (ie. drifting out of the lane), and maintaining a safe distance from the vehicle in front. Motorists who use their mobile phone to send text messages while on the road dramatically increase the likelihood of collision – their reaction times deteriorated by 35 per cent.

In comparison, those who drank alcohol at the legal limit were 12 per cent slower, those under … Read the rest

Is the Increase of Technology Causing an Increase in Car Accidents?

Car accidents are becoming more prevalent today and there is a cause for concern that, at the least, this is partly due to the rise in consumer use of technology, including cell phones and other devices, while they are operating their vehicles. As a result people are sustaining serious personal injuries. For instance, on Saturday June 2nd, 2007, there was a multi-car accident on the Long Island Expressway in Commack, New York due to a driver who was distracted by his Ipod. It is apparent that there is a rise of use of cell phones and ipods while individuals are … Read the rest