To Text Or Not To Text

In July Tennessee’s new prohibition against texting while driving took affect. The law was a response to the rising rate of fatal accidents taking place because drivers are distracted by typing out and reading text messages. Tennessee is not alone among the states, at least several dozen states and the District of Columbia have banned texting while driving and several other have banned it for drivers under 18 years of age.

The Associated Press reported today, and the report was carried by numerous outlets, that at least 22 states that ban texting while driving offer some type of service that allows motorists to get information about traffic tie-ups, road conditions or emergencies via Twitter. It is a mixed signal that some safety experts and politicians say could be dangerous.

The AP report quoted Minnesota State Rep. Frank Hornstein, who helped write his state’s no-texting-while-driving law. “You shouldn’t be fiddling around with any kind of electronic gadget in your car while driving,”

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned all texting while driving, and eight others prohibit texting by younger drivers only. Many of these laws essentially bar people from fooling with their smart phones in any way behind the wheel; in some cases, just reading from a mobile device is against the law.

Some supporters of text-messaging bans say that states that provide traffic information via Twitter are undermining these laws. The article goes on by saying “I would guess that the states wouldn’t intend to be sending a mixed message, but it sounds like it could be a mixed message,” said Judie Stone, president of the Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.

Numerous state transportation officials across the country say they are not encouraging people to get online behind the wheel. They say drivers should read their tweets before hitting the road. Other places offering traffic information via Twitter include: California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.

I’ve blogged numerous times about this issue. During the debate this year in the Tennessee Legislature prior to the texting ban it was clear that the dangers of texting and driving are well documented. The Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found in July that when truck drivers texted, their risk of a collision was 23 times greater. Dialing a cell phone and using or reaching for an electronic device raised the risk of collision about six times in cars and trucks. Research shows that driving while using a cell phone can pose a serious cognitive distraction and degrade driver performance.  The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) estimates that driver distraction from all sources contributes to 25 percent of all police-reported traffic crashes.

So what’s the message? On one hand they tell you not to text and drive and on the other they tell you to Twitter the TDOT and find out about road conditions. To paraphrase Tonto, the Lone Ranger’s trusty sidekick, “Kimosabe, state agencies speak with a forked tongue.”

If you or a loved one are injured in a Tennessee automobile crash caused by a driver who is texting contact one of our experienced

Tennessee automobile accident attorney’s and find out about your rights and remedies,