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Tough on textingDec 28, 2010 (The Garden City Telegram - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- On Saturday, New Year's Day, the gloves come off and law enforcement officers start enforcing the new Kansas law against mobile phone texting. Get caught texting while driving, and the fine is $60 plus court costs, which are at the discretion of the court to which the case is brought. Kansas is one of 30 states to ban text messaging for all drivers. In Kansas, no texting also includes drivers in vehicles waiting at stop signs and traffic lights. Eight states ban all handheld telephone use for the operator of a motor vehicle. Federal law prohibits texting while driving by federal employees on duty and all operators of commercial trucks and buses. "The law went into effect on July 1," said Finney County Sheriff Kevin Bascue. "Agencies have been issuing warnings. Now they start writing citations. This is a good law. We worked a serious accident a couple of years ago caused when a teen driver was driving and texting at the same time. We have seen first hand what happens when you text and drive." Enacted by the legislature as Senate Bill 300 and signed into law last spring, the text messaging ban also requires minors to wear protective equipment (helmets) while riding a motorcycle, and school districts are given permission to keep their buses in service as the anti-texting law also bans e-mails and instant messaging while driving a motor vehicle. "There will be a reminder to our officers that starting Jan. 1, they start writing citations instead of warnings," said Garden City Police Department Sgt. Michael Reagle. "It will be a routine traffic violation. This enforcement was delayed. It was in effect, but you could not write the citation. Effective Saturday, citations will be written for violation of the texting law." Lt. Robert Baker, of the Kansas Highway Patrol, says officers can tell the difference between texting and making a phone call. He told The Lawrence Journal-World that someone making a phone call looks at the phone for only a few seconds, while texting requires looking at the phone for much longer. There are exceptions to the texting ban -- reporting a crime and reading alerts for emergency traffic or weather situations. "The texting law is a good law," Bascue said. "If our officers believe someone is texting, they'll be pulling them over. We are all for the law. It probably will save some lives." Bascue suggested that a public information campaign, which has been ongoing, on the dangers of distracted driving while texting will do as much good as the law itself. Drivers and motor vehicle passengers once resented the now statutory requirement to wear seat restraints in a moving vehicle. Now, the majority realize wearing a seat belt potentially saves not only their life in a crash but also the lives of others. "And the seat belt fine is only $5," Bascue said. The sheriff commented when asked if a $60 fine was sufficient deterrent to those who text while driving. "We all knew this was coming," Bascue said of enforcing the prohibition on texting while driving. "It is here. Citations will be written." He and Reagle noted that there may be some problems in initial enforcement. They said it would be up to the individual officer who should be able to tell if a driver is looking at a mobile phone for texting or if he or she has the telephone to their ear. Of course, the bottom line for a confirmation of texting while driving would be running a history on the cell phone with the mobile provider. Pete Bodyk, traffic safety manager for the Kansas Department of Transportation, cited studies that show texting drivers are 23 times more likely to be involved in a traffic crash. "Drivers take their eyes off the road five seconds per message on average," Bodyk said. "That is long enough for a vehicle travelling 55 miles an hour to go 134 yards." To see more of The Garden City Telegram or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.gctelegram.com. Copyright (c) 2010, The Garden City Telegram, Kan. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com. |