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Ohio Bans Texting - Discuss


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Ohio Bans Texting - Discuss

 

Statewide texting ban, teen rules sent to KasichStatewide texting ban, teen rules sent to Ohio gov

 

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A statewide texting-while-driving ban that could be tricky to enforce cleared the Ohio Legislature on Tuesday and was headed to the governor's desk for his expected signature.

The House cleared the measure on a 82-12 vote. The Senate passed it earlier this month.

 

All drivers would be banned from texting, though young drivers could more easily be pulled over for it.

That's fine by 17-year-old Salome Beneye of Columbus.

"It should be more strictly enforced toward teens," Beneye said in a phone interview. "I'm not saying it shouldn't toward adults as well, but I feel like teens have a better chance of getting in greater accidents than adults would."

 

Beneye, who's had her license since November, said she doesn't make phone calls or text while driving thanks in part to a series of pictures highlighting distracted driving accidents that were shown in her drivers' education class.

 

"It's really scary," she said. "No text or phone call is worth my life."

The bill would make texting with hand-held devices a secondary offense for adults. That means drivers could be ticketed for typing emails or instant messages only if they were first pulled over for another offense, such as running a red light.

 

The measure is tougher on teen drivers. Texting or using an electronic device while driving would be a primary offense for those under age 18. Minors could not use their cellphones, iPads, laptops or other electronic devices while driving unless there's an emergency.

 

Minors could be fined $150 for the first offense and have their license suspended for 60 days. Repeat offenders could face a $300 fine and get their license taken away for a year. Teens could have hands-free GPS navigation devices, but they couldn't use other electronic devices unless an emergency arises, or the vehicle was stopped and off the roadway.

The measure would be among the broadest in the country in terms of teen distracted driving restrictions, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association. Texting while driving is already prohibited in 38 states, the organization has found. An additional five states prohibit text messaging by new drivers.

 

Some states, such as such as Connecticut and Washington, also ban young or new drivers from using wireless devices even if it's hands-free.

Democratic Rep. Nancy Garland, the bill's co-sponsor, said it would make Ohio's roads safer. She recounted stories brought to her by constituents, fathers and wives whose relatives died from distracted drivers who were texting.

 

"It is time to end these tragedies," Garland, of New Albany, told her colleagues.

The Ohio Fraternal Order of Police supports the legislation. However, the group's president has said the organization would have preferred that texting be a primary offense for all drivers because it would have been easier to enforce.

 

"You're asking a law enforcement officer to determine at 30 mph whether someone is under 18 or not, so that's a challenge," said Jay McDonald, Ohio FOP president. Still, McDonald said the measure is a good first step in cracking down on the problem of distracted driving among teens. "That's who we think are the most vulnerable drivers," he said in a recent interview.

 

The measure also gives officers an avenue to investigate whether texting has played a role in a crash or traffic accident, McDonald said. "It will enable us to get a warrant and look into it much more thoroughly than we did before."

 

Ohio's bill would make texting behind the wheel a misdemeanor for drivers, with possible fines of $150. The measure wouldn't trump city ordinances on texting or cellphone use that might be tougher.

 

The legislation is a weaker statewide texting ban than an earlier version that the House passed in June. That version had made texting a primary offense, but it didn't include the crackdown on teen drivers.

The switch to the secondary offense came amid concerns in the Senate about how the law would be enforced by authorities. Senators had wrangled with concerns about enforcement since the bill stalled in their chamber last fall.

 

Drivers would have a six-month grace period after the bill takes effect. Law enforcement couldn't ticket or cite drivers for violations, but could issue a warning that provides information about the prohibitions on using electronics.

 

The bill provides a handful of exemptions for adults, including one that allows them to read and enter a name or number to make a phone call.

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Great law, but good luck enforcing it. I think the only traffic laws police enforce now are speeding and running red lights.

 

Maybe we can get some texting-cameras that will take pictures of people driving and mail them a ticket if they're texting. Or perhaps the .gov can just make everyone log when they're driving and then get the phone company to report usage for more mailed tickets? Oh the possibilities!

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I'm all for it. There's someone texting in the car next to me right now!

 

 

Sent from my Sprint HTC EVO 3D

 

 

Any you're posting on CR, so ahhhhh, what's the difference....lol?

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Great law, but good luck enforcing it. I think the only traffic laws police enforce now are speeding and running red lights.

 

Maybe we can get some texting-cameras that will take pictures of people driving and mail them a ticket if they're texting. Or perhaps the .gov can just make everyone log when they're driving and then get the phone company to report usage for more mailed tickets? Oh the possibilities!

 

Yup. Fundamentally, its a good concept but I don't see how it can be fairly enforced. This is another situation where creating more laws isn't really going to help anything. I would say let nature run its course but unfortunately, its not going to be the person that was doing the texting that gets hurt in the accident, but the people that texter hits, the mom with three kids.

 

Its a lose lose situation.

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Ohio has just introduced a new law. Ban on masturbating while driving. Studies shows that it is just as dangerous as drunk driving. The only difference between these two is that one is guaranteed a happy ending.
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Glad they are wasting time with redundant laws. Already have distracted driving laws - how about just enforce the existing laws! Just as hard to enforce, but no need for redundant laws. These laws are 'feel good' laws - Hard to enforce and won't stop bad drivers.

 

Maybe making the driving test harder with re-testing every X years... Plenty of ways to get bad drivers off the road but no one wants to reduce the overall # of drivers. If 30% of drivers were unable to get a license, think about what would happen with car sales/insurance/gas... I don't know what % of people wouldn't be able to pass a 'real' driving test - 30% was a guess. Driving 25k/yr - I see tons of bad drivers daily! :)

 

All my .02¢

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I think this law is bullshit! no one should be able to tell me what i can and cant do in my own car with my own phone! just another way the government is trying to hold us down and take away our liberties

 

I really do feel this way, unfortunatly dumb mother fuckers can't keep from having accidents because they don't make driving their top priority when they are behind the wheel.

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Can't believe it took this long. I'll admit, I do text in my car occasionally, but at stoplights only.

 

Here too. never really did until recently now that the iPhone will allow seamless voice to text message. Works flawless with the hands free sync system in the Ford. Just press the home button on my phone and tell Siri what I want to do. Sync always had the ability to read my texts back to me as they came in but now I can do both hands free.

 

Granted it's not as safe as just simply driving when behind the wheel, but then people rarely just drive any more.

 

ill continue to do it. come at me.

 

This. Although I suppose it would make for an interesting case if something happened. Technically I'm texting, but with less hands on contact than looking up a contact or ph# which the law allows for.

 

I think this law is bullshit! no one should be able to tell me what i can and cant do in my own car with my own phone! just another way the government is trying to hold us down and take away our liberties

 

No one is telling you what you can or can't do in your car( while not driving). When you are in your car on public roads with others around you, is a completely different story. Driving is a privilege not a right. What puts your texting as a higher priority than the safety of those around you?

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Can't believe it took this long. I'll admit, I do text in my car occasionally, but at stoplights only.

 

This. 3 years ago this, as well as no talking on the phone was passed in CT (where I was from originally). The law didn't do much at first, but as of now it's been halting the majority of teens from txting constantly. Still, nearly impossible to prove, so it'll be extremely hard to enforce.

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