Texting Ban Laws have been implemented in many States in an effort to eliminate the use of cell phone while driving and cut down on serious automobile accidents. Distracted driving has become the leading cause of auto accidents among teens. Each state uses different methods of enforcement of their law.  There are even additional regulations in some local jurisdictions. The use of hand held devices while driving are prohibited by all drivers in 9 states, the District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. 30 states and the District of Columbia restrict novice drivers from using cell phones.  The use of a cell phone while driving a school bus is prohibited in 19 states and the District of Columbia.

Recently, the National Safety Council congratulated the Pennsylvania General Assembly for the passage of Senate Bill 314 which makes sending text message while driving a violation for all drivers. Pennsylvania has become the 35^th State to outlaw text messaging while behind the wheel for all drivers. The law will take effect 120 days after it is signed. It has been estimated by NSC that because of S.B. 314, at least 12 lives will be saved each year and about 1,200 injuries requiring medical attention will be prevented in Pennsylvania. The Pennsylvania enforcement provision is key which permits police to pull over a driver for the violation alone. The fine will be $50.  Many states make texting while driving a secondary offense, which means their police can not pull the offender over unless there is another violation associated with it.

In an annual meeting in South Carolina, Horry Country Councilman urged legislators to pass a ban on texting and other cell phone use while driving in South Carolina. Some meeting participants support the idea while others did not. According to the legislators, such bill has been introduced but has not gone anywhere.

In Kentucky, about 150 tickets have been written in the first six months of active enforcement of distracted driving law. The texting ban by all drivers was implemented in July 2010 and police began writing tickets in January 2011. The law also bans use of all personal communications devices by drivers under 18. Distracted driving citations are $25 for first offense and then $50 plus court costs.

As a Kentucky Accident Attorney, I believe that more lives will be saved with the enforcement of texting ban, the campaign to stop distracted driving and increasing awareness of distracted driving.  It must start with allowing police to enforce the law.  To do this we must ban all cell phone use behind the wheel unless it is totally hands free.  This would allow police to pull over offenders and write tickets to anyone who is using a cell phone while driving.  A texting violation can be defended by simply stating “I was making a phone call”.  Texting bans are a start but we need to go further and ban all non hands free use of a cell phone while driving a car.

Distracted driving is the number one killer of American Teens as reported by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It has been reported that 16% of all drivers under the age of 20 that were involved in a fatal accident have been distracted while driving. Texting while driving is dangerous and deadly but teens, who are more prone to use cell phones while driving are at the highest risk, ignore this. Several states have passed statutes to ban the use of cell phones while driving. Pennsylvania is getting ready to join the more than 30 other states that ban all motorists from texting while driving.

A nationwide public service advertising campaign has been launched that hopes to reduce the number of deaths from distracted driving by educating young adult drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. The campaign is sponsored by state Attorney Generals and Consumer Protection agencies, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Ad Council. The campaign is reaching out to drivers through TV, radio, outdoor and digital public service announcements as well as Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

Connecticut and Tennessee are participating in the campaign to increase the awareness of teens of the law and the dangers of texting and driving. Attorney General George Jepsen of Connecticut said, “Laws prohibiting texting while driving are not enough. We need to change the culture, starting with the age group most proficient with new technology. They have the power to save lives by focusing on the road and not their cell phones while driving. Stop the texts to stop the wrecks.” Moreover, Attorney General Bob Cooper said, “Imagine closing your eyes while driving for the amount of time it takes to read a text message. Reading a text message is no less dangerous than any other diversion that takes your eyes off the road, and it can carry deadly consequences.”

The new public service ads show teens and adults that when you text and drive, you are not multitasking, but essentially driving blind. All of the ads direct audiences to a new campaign website where teens and young adults can find facts about the impact of texting while driving and tips to control the behavior.

As a personal attorney, I strongly support this new public service campaign. Texting while driving kills and changes lives in the process.  Statistically distracted driving is more dangerous thn drunk driving. This epidemic must be stopped. Our battle cry should be STOP THE TEXT TO STOP THE WRECKS.

During the 1990s, cell phones became widely available in the United States and since then their use has increased. Everyone has a cell phone. We now have smart phones and apps. They act like iPods. There is no telling what will be next. They seem to be attached to teens. There have been concerns have been over the risk of cancer from emitted radio-frequency (RF) waves.

The big question we have all heard is “Do cell phones increase the risk of brain tumors?” There have been several studies over the years to answer this question.

A new study throws doubts on the relation between cell phones and brain cancer. A Danish study of 358,403 people found the same cancer risks between people who had used a cell phone for about a decade and those who did not. The study concludes that It is not probable to get a tumor in the part of the brain closest to where phones are commonly held against the head. The radiation produced by cellular phones cannot instantly damage DNA and is not similar to stronger types of radiation like ultraviolet lights or X-rays. Radio Frequency waves from cell phones can heat up body tissues but are not thought to destroy human cells.

The results of the study may ease our minds over cancer risks from cell phone use but the fact is cell phone use can still be deadly.  As cell phone users are increasing, car accidents involving distracted driving are also increasing. Fatal accidents that end lives occur just because of the use of cell phones. Texting while driving is the major culprit and has reached the level of an epidemic from my point of view. Cell phones will continue to kill until we quit texting while driving.

As our world turns busier, techie and modern, more cases of distracted driving causing serious car accidents are occurring. Drivers are being distracted from the primary task of driving by using a cell phone, drinking or eating, talking to a passenger, grooming, reading maps, watching a video or even while changing the radio station or their MP3 player.  The Government is attempting to decrease this life-threatening practice. Many States had implemented laws to control cell phone use and texting while driving.

In 2009, there were two proposals at the Distracted Driving Summit that have now been adopted. Those are the banning of commercial bus and truck drivers from texting on the job and restricting train operators from using cell phones and other electronic devices while in the driver’s seat. The new rule is making an effort of prohibiting commercial truck drivers from texting while transporting hazardous materials was announced in 2010.

This September 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for the government to do more on the increasingly prevalent danger of distracted driving on roadways. NTSB recommends banning commercial drivers from all non-emergency cell phone use.

Automobile accidents related to distracted driving are increasing. The use of a cell phone and hands-free device can take away the ability of the brain to focus on driving safely. Distraction results in driving errors and accidents that may harm seriously harm others on the road.

A distracted driver who causes a crash will be liable for the damages, medical expenses and even the period of unemployment of the victims.  With the help of an experienced accident attorney, it can be determined if the driver is really distracted at the time of the accident and evidences will be discovered.  This fact may result in punitive damages and a higher personal injury settlement or trial verdict.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended that government should ban truckers from using cell phones, either hand-held or with hand-free device while driving except for emergencies.

This statement was made after a Kentucky crash on March 26, 2010, when a truck driver, Kenneth Laymon for Hester Inc., crossed a 65-foot median on the Interstate 65, went through a cable barrier, and hit a passenger van carrying 12 people.  11 people were killed including Laymon. Investigators found out that Laymon had been talking on his mobile phone 69 times while driving, including 4 calls minutes before the fatal accident.

Due to the increase in the number of accidents over the recent years, NTSB has made recommendations to ban cell phone use involving commercial drivers.  It started in 2002 wherein an accident occurred and the Board released a statement that banned cell phone use by rookie drivers.  This same ban was pushed on bus drivers in year 2004.  In 2008, cell phone ban was placed on commercial railroad and marine transportation operators.  In 2010, commercial drivers are banned from texting while on the road.  Now, they are considering a ban on the country’s 3.7 million commercial drivers from talking on cell phones.

According to U.S. Transportation Secretary LaHood, “It’s just too dangerous.  It can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds.”  He stated in the DOT Web site, “Every time a commercial truck or bus driver takes his or her eyes off the road to use a cell phone, even for a few seconds, the driver places everyone around them at risk.”

A legislative or regulatory ban on texting for all drivers has already been recommended in 2009 and all hand-held phones be banned for all drivers, including truck drivers in February this year.

There should be a federal law banning cell phone use for all drivers, Secretary LaHood adds.

I argue.  Trucks and other commercial are more difficult to stop and maneuver.  Your time to react takes longer.  Distractions such as cell phones have no place in commercial vehicles.  A ban on cell phone use will prevent serious injury truck accidents in Kentucky and across the United States.

As parents, our number one priority is our kids. I have two daughters and am probably over protective. We set a lot of limitations, precautions and care for them. It is hard to trust others with our kids, maybe even with our own parents (their grandparents!).

Guess what? Maybe we are wrong. There’s a new study which shows that children are less likely to be injured if grandparents are driving as compared to the parents. That is your kids are more likely to be involved in a car accident when they are with you. I find this unbelievable!

The study was based on data from nearly 12, 000 children from 15 U.S. states between 2003 and 2007 injured in car crashes involving children younger than 16. This study was published in the journal Pediatrics. Dr. Fred M. Henretig, an emergency medicine physician at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, is the lead researcher on the study. 0.7 percent of children were injured in the crash when grandparents were driving compared to 1 percent when parents were the one driving.

Older drivers are just not as safe. That is the general consensus. We think that grandparents driving is worse because they used old cars and they lack knowledge in new technologies.

There are factors that Dr. Henretig cited as reasons for the lower injury risk of children when with their grandparents.

* Grandparents drive at a lower speed
* Grandparents do not following the car in front of them quite as closely,
* Grandparents think that grandchildren are special cargo,
* Grandparents are less distracted than busy working parents tend to be.
* Grandparents focus on their driving and refrain from distractions like using cell phones, fiddling with the radio, eating while driving or thinking about their work.

The bottom line is that the risk of being injured in a Kentucky car accident goes down when we care about what we are doing and are not distracted. Focus on driving and your risk of being injured in a car accident will likely decrease.

Are you horrified hearing news about fatal crashes that happen daily?  In Kentucky, countless number of automobile accidents have already occurred this year but also from the past years causing deaths and serious injuries.  Is this like a trend that we just need to get used to it?  This is just the way it is.  Wrong!  We need to act now to prevent fatal car accidents caused by the negligence of distracted drivers.

Our primary responsibility as a driver is to operate our vehicle safely.  Here are some tips to keep us focused while driving. 

•       Pay attention when you are driving, even if you are familiar with the area.  Keep your eyes on the road and your hands on the wheel.
•       Don’t text or talk on your cell phone while you are driving.  If you need to make or answer a call, pull over to a safe place.  But it is best to turn off your cell phone if possible.
•       Limit in-car distractions such as fiddling with the stereo, eating, putting on makeup and other activities that can distract your driving ability.  Too much noise and movement around you could also be dangerous because it can keep you from seeing important stuff on the road.
•       Always buckle up.  Seatbelts are savior during car accidents.
•       Use your head.  Make smart decisions, use your common sense, follow rules of the road and you’ll be a safer driver.
•        If you need some motivation on your driving, listen to those who have lost children, parents and friends as a result of distracted driving.  It will surely change your mind and move you to be a more responsible driver. 

I know that the do’s and don’ts are easy to remember but not so easy to do.  Let’s try to ignore our phone and pay attention to the road.  Your life and others lives depend on it.

Do you think you can drive and text or talk on a cell phone at the same time?  A simple question yet crucial to preventing serious injury car accidents.  Motor vehicle crashes are the No.1 cause of death in the United States.  Motor vehicle crashes are among the top three causes of death in a person’s lifetime.  Research has found that talking on a cell phone quadruples your risk of an accident.  When you are text messaging and driving, the crash risk goes up to eight times.  So, do you think your brain just can keep up?  I don’t think so and research is on my side.

Most of us believe that our brain can work the way we’d like it to work.  We have become a society of multi-taskers but we can’t multitask.  It drains our brain.  People often think that they could effectively accomplish two tasks at the same time.  Multitasking is a myth because the human brain does not perform tasks simultaneously.  The brain actually handles tasks sequentially.  It will perform only one task at a time.  When we believe we are multitasking we are really attention switching.  Distracted driving endangers the drivers’ safety and the people on the road around him.  Dialing and texting can take a driver’s eyes from the roadway for five to ten seconds.  Did you know most crashes have less than three seconds reaction time for you to be able to avoid the car accident?  Do I need to do the math for you?

There is also inattention blindness that most distracted drivers experience.  Drivers are looking out the windshield but they do not process everything that is happening on the road in front of them.  Obviously, Kentucky drivers need to effectively monitor the surroundings of the road.  They need to seek and identify potential hazards so the driver can respond to unexpected situations.

Everyone should think first before picking up a cell phone to call or text while driving.  Is it really worth it?

Distracted driving is any non-driving activity a person engages in that has the potential to distract a driver from the primary task of driving that increases the risk of having a car accident.  Evidence shows that cell phone use is one of the most dangerous distractions for drivers and a common cause of car collisions.

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration distracted driving kills approximately 5,500 people annually. Nearly 1 in 4 of these fatal accidents involves cell phone use.  Are you alarmed about this? I know it *%#*& me off!

Thankfully there are organizations, such as FocusDriven, that are active in reminding us that no phone call or text message is worth a life.  FocusDriven is a nonprofit advocacy organization for distracted driving victims, including the use of cell phones.  A newly redesigned FocusDriven website (www.focusdriven.org/summit) was launched to increase awareness about the dangers of cell phone use while driving.  The website was announced at the Illinois Distracted Driving Summit in Addison, Illinois. The summit was hosted by FocusDriven and the National Safety Council in partnership with Shriners Hospital for Children-Chicago. 

The site has a summit resource guide that includes video clips, presentations and other resources.  It also includes a searchable database of victims where photos and messages from friends and family members can be shared via a memorial wall.  Unfortunately the victims of distracted driving are increasing.  This is just one important way bring awareness to and hopefully decrease the number of fatal car accidents caused by distracted driving. 

Janet Froetscher, president and CEO of the National Safety Council said, “The National Safety Council supports FocusDriven in the fight to end cell phone use on our roadways, both in Illinois and nationwide.”  She added that they are helping FocusDriven form resources that others can use to compel change in their states through the summit.

In my own personal view, an effective summit against distracted driving should also be brought in the state of Kentucky.  Many lives here in Kentucky are lost due to distracted driving.  Our current law does not appear to be working, although four months may not be long enough to see. All I know is when I drive to and from the office I see:

• Cars swerving from lane to lane
• Cars driving slow in the fast lane
• Cars stopped at green lights
• Cars almost rear ending cars

Guess what. Almost always I see the driver on the cell phone. This is against the law, yet people still do it. It is a proven fact that texting while driving is more dangerous the drunk driving, yet people still do it. As a Kentucky personal injury attorney, I see serious car accidents caused by distracted driver more than ever. PLEASE, let’s follow the lead of FocusDriven and get the word out that distracted driving is dangerous.

Whether you are a teenager or an adult you have a cell phone.  Even my parents now use a cell phone on a regular basis. We can’t seem to resist the urge to use the phone and replying to messages even while driving.  This is alarming! What has become so urgent in the last five years?

Using cell phones while driving and other forms of distracted driving can lead to dangerous car accidents or even fatal deaths on Kentucky road.  One tends to ignore road signs and fails to keep watch on the road when their eyes are focused on a text message coming in. This can result in a serious injury accident. 

A study has shown that texting while driving is actually more dangerous than drunk driving.  A person who is texting while driving at the speed of 35 mph will cover 25 ft before bringing the car to complete stop. Compare this to a drunk driver who would travel a distance of 4 ft to stop at the same speed. 

Texting while driving is about 6 times more likely to result in an automobile accident than driving while intoxicated. This really surprised me when I read it. Why? This is because texting can cause a 400% increase in time spent with eyes off the road.  If you are writing or reading text messages, your reaction time in case of emergency is reduced by approximately 35%.  Texting while driving is extremely dangerous.

It is just so shocking to see how people can take driving safety for granted despite all the awareness messages you see on television, the internet and billboards.  People tend to be careless in using cell phones while driving.

Let’s make our motto “I dnt txt n drv”! If you agree send me an e-mail at mike@MikeSchaferLaw.com and I will send you a bracelet that has these words on it free of charge. Let this serve as a reminder that texting while driving can kill. We don’t let our kids drink and drive. Let’s make sure they don’t text and drive.