BY DANIELLE ONAFRAYCHUK
On Tuesday, April 30th, the Senate approved Florida`s bill opposing texting and driving.
The House of Representatives proved to be a roadblock in making this law official, but if they do indeed approve the law it will go into effect starting in October 2013.
The National Safety Council estimates at least 28% of all traffic crashes – or at least 1.6 million crashes each year – involve drivers using cell phones and texting.
Texting while driving impairs reaction time, which makes it difficult to analyze a situation quickly if any danger is imposed on the driver. The fact that reaction time is drastically decreased is what worries state officials and legislatures. Texting while driving not only puts the driver at risk but others on the road as well. If Florida passes the Texting While Driving Bill you will be charged with a secondary offense, which means that the driver must have made another offense as well to be pulled over, such as reckless driving, speeding, driving while intoxicated, etc. Then if the driver is charged with texting while driving they will be awarded not one ticket, but two. For a first time offense it will be a ticket worth $30 and if you are charged with the same offense within 5 years of the first ticket it will be $60. Texting and driving will be allowed only in cars with Bluetooth, hands-off tech cars, and when the car has come to a complete stop. If violated three times there will be a higher fine, court fees and added license points.
NHTSA data shows that 11% of drivers at any one time are using cell phones. Peer-reviewed research concludes that cell phone use increases crash risk by four times.
If replying to a message is necessary there are many solutions you can choose from. You can pull your car over and “take five,” which simply means taking five minutes, more or less, and pulling your car off the road and out of harms way to reply to the message while at a stop. Another solution is turning your phone off while driving a vehicle to eliminate your distractions and impulse to read and reply to messages received. No text is worth putting a life at risk, so legislative officials and officers urge you to resist the temptation and just put the phone away. Not replying to that one message could be the reason you avoid dangerous risks such as crashes.
Once the House of Representatives have passed the bill into law they intend on enforcing it right away. Texting while driving has proven to be a big factor in car accidents, which can be easily negated.
