Texting While Driving Becomes Illegal In Maine
On September 28th, Maine will put one final period on texting while driving as an official ban goes into effect.
The law, which was unanimously passed by the Senate and House in May 2011, makes Maine the 33rd state to ban this highly unsafe and unfortunately all too common driving behavior.
The minimum fine for texting while driving is set at $100.
In 2009, Maine lawmakers passed a distracted driving law that targets motorists who are engaged in various forms of distracted behavior. Under this law, drivers who commit traffic violations such as running red lights or stop signs can be cited for distracted driving if a police officer believes that to be the cause of the infraction.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration:
- In 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction
- Of those killed in 2009 distracted-driving-related crashes, almost 20% involved reports of a cell phone as a distraction
According to a recent study conducted by the Virginia Tech Driving Institute, drivers who text are 23 percent more likely to get into an accident than those who are not texting, indicating that the pattern of texting while driving is even more dangerous than drunk driving.
Being personal injury lawyers, we see firsthand the effects and devastation of distracted driving car accidents and would like to remind Mainers to put their cell phones away while operating a motor vehicle – because it’s now the law.
For more information and statistics on distracted driving, please visit www.distraction.gov, an official U.S. Government website.
