Texting while driving in Va. about to carry a fine
By: Maria Schmitt
Special to The Examiner
June 28, 2009
As of Wednesday, Virginians face a $20 fine if caught text messaging while driving, thanks to a law signed by Gov. Tim Kaine in March.
By the numbers:
» Overall, 58.9 percent of respondents to a national survey said they used text messaging.
» 26.4 percent of people surveyed said they texted while driving.
» 58.0 percent of 16-to-19-year-olds acknowledged texting while driving.
» Percentage drops to 1.5 percent for drivers 70 and older.
» 83.1 percent of people surveyed think texting while driving should be illegal.
Source: vlingo Corp.
It’s a secondary offense, meaning a police officer can’t pull drivers over for texting, but can pull them over for another offense and fine them for texting as well.
D.C. and 11 states already have laws banning texting while driving. Maryland passed a similar bill this spring.
“It’s a good law,” said Kristen Carson-Owens, 25, of the District.
A friend of Carson-Owens’ husband died after she got in a car crash when she was texting while driving.
But Carson-Owens and some of her friends agreed that a $20 fine would probably not deter many people from continuing to text message while driving.
“It’s not going to stop them,” said Meghan McNamara, also a resident of the District.
She said a fine more along the lines of $300 would be more effective.
AAA spokeswoman Martha Meade said she believed there was no doubt that texting takes a driver’s hands, eyes and mind off the road.
Meade approves of the legislation, which she expects will “clearly save lives on Virginia roads.”
D.C. resident Anthony Piscitelli said that before he got an iPhone, he sometimes sent text messages while driving.
“Now it’s too hard, so I don’t do it,” he said. On his old phone, he said, he had all the buttons memorized and would only look at the phone to read the complete message before sending it.
A study released by vlingo Corp. details text message use while driving. Not surprisingly, the younger the driver, the more likely he or she is to text while behind the wheel. In the 16-to-19 age group, 58 percent of respondents said they texted while driving. That percentage drops steadily as the age increases. Only 1.5 percent of drivers ages 70 and older acknowledged texting behind the wheel.
The company is researching and conducting surveys to gauge interest in voice recognition software for text message users.
