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Texting-driving law hits roadblocks [Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA)](Telegraph-Herald (Dubuque, IA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Distracted driving facts, figures - More than 6,000 distracted drivers crash and die every year. - 20 percent of injury crashes in 2009 involved distracted driving. Of those killed, 995 involved cell phone use (18 percent). - Drivers younger than 20 years of age have the highest proportion of distraction-related fatal crashes. - 26 percent of teens text while driving, a combination that causes 16 percent of fatal crashes among teens. That translates to 14 dead teenagers every day. - Drivers who use hand-held devices while driving are four times as likely to get into crashes serious enough to injure themselves or others. - As of January 2011, nine states had banned hand-held cell phone use for all drivers and 32 states had banned texting by all drivers. - There were 659 distracted driving crashes in Iowa in 2010. Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration pledge push The National Safety Council is encouraging everyone to take a pledge to drive "cell free" at nsc.org/pledge. It's impossible to know exactly how many Dubuquers text while driving. Checking through the driver's side window, you'd presume it was an epidemic. But based purely on statistics from the Dubuque Police Department, you'd think it was nonexistent. Despite Iowa's ban on texting while driving, which officially took effect on July 1, 2011, enforcement of the law has proven remarkably difficult. "In my opinion, it's ineffective because it is basically unenforceable," said Dubuque Lt. Scott Baxter. Thousands of fatal crashes each year involve drivers using cell phones. An estimated 24 percent of crashes, or more than 1.2 million crashes per year, can be attributed to cell phone use while driving, according to the National Safety Council, which promotes April as Distracted Driving Awareness Month. "It's time to start changing the social acceptance of cell phone use while driving," said Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the safety council, in a news release. "While many understand the dangers, they still use their cell phones when they drive. We hope people will take the pledge this April to help prevent needless tragedies and keep our roadways safer." The texting-and-driving law says all drivers shall not use a hand- held electronic communication device to write, send or read a text message, instant message or email. Adults may engage in a call, including selecting or entering a telephone number or name, on a hand-held mobile telephone. Dubuque police Capt. Scott Crabill said police have issued 30 Careless Driving citations since Jan. 1, 2011, but had no information on how many texting-and-driving citations had been issued. The city ordinance on careless driving can include excessive tire squealing, doing wheelies, abruptly turning or creating unnecessary danger. A text messaging ticket costs about $100 total, and up to $1,000 for causing a serious accident. However, the texting-and-driving law is a "secondary" enforcement for adults. That means a driver can't be pulled over for an alleged texting violation unless an officer suspects the driver is breaking another law. It's different for drivers younger than 18, who can be pulled over solely for using an electronic device while driving (talking or texting). "Secondary enforcement laws are notoriously ineffective, especially when compared to primary enforcement laws, making this particular code even more impractical and ineffective," Baxter said, adding that it is difficult for law enforcement to differentiate between drivers in the 14 to 18 age range who can't use any electronic device while driving versus those barely older than 18. The Grant County (Wis.) Sheriff's Department has issued one texting while driving ticket since January 2011. Giving an Inattentive Driving citation is much more common - with more than 55 issued during that same time span. Sgt. Nate Dreckman, with Grant County Sheriff's Department, said both citations carry the same penalty - a $180.90 fine and four points on your driving record - but deputies are more likely to use the inattentive citation, which includes texting and emailing. Dreckman still thinks the texting-and-driving citation is helpful from the public's standpoint. "It's a better way to narrow down and make things safer for people," he said. Crabill said the law has good intentions. "The spirit of the law is good, the enforceability of it is much more difficult," he said. (c) 2012 ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved. |