Texting While Driving Bans Increase
On January 1st, New Hampshire became the latest state to make texting while driving illegal. Maine’s southerly neighbor joined the ranks of seventeen other states, Guam, and the District of Columbia, where driver safety is of utmost importance. In New Hampshire, the fine for texting while driving is $100.
Though not yet illegal in Maine, texting while driving is a dangerous distraction. As other states, including Maine, debate legislature to make texting while driving illegal, it’s safe to say that it’s only a matter of time before being banned in all fifty states. Currently in Maine, it is illegal to drive while being distracted.
The ban in New Hampshire also forbids twittering, typing on a laptop computer, and using other electronic devices that require drivers to take their hands off the steering wheel and eyes off the road. Some states have even gone so far as to ban cell phone usage while driving unless done so using a hands-free set. Regardless of the state and regardless of its current laws, multitasking while driving is extremely dangerous.
A study conducted by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that the risk of collision by a truck driver is 23 times higher when he or she sends or reads text messages. When that same driver is talking on a cell phone, the risk is 7 times higher. Studies in New Hampshire have shown that crashes involving distracted drivers and drivers who cross the center line account for 21 percent of driver fatalities.
In 2009, a crash between a commuter train and an oncoming freight train killed 25 people in California. Federal investigators found that the conductor who was distracted and ran a red light, sent a text message 22 seconds before the accident occurred.
At the Law Offices of Joe Bornstein, we see firsthand the effects of fatal accidents. Don’t be a statistic, keep your eyes on the road and take care of communications prior to your travel or pull off to the side of the road. In the event that you or a loved one are injured in an accident caused by someone else’s negligence, call us for a free and confidential consultation. You may be entitled to compensation.
And remember, the next time you’re behind the wheel, an aware driver is a safe driver. And consider that if our neighbor, New Hampshire, whose state motto has long been "Live Free or Die," is banning texting while driving, it is for good reason.
For more information on Maine state driving laws, please visit: www.drivinglaws.org/maine.php
