On April 25, 2010 Governor Beshear signed a bill that makes it against the law in Kentucky to text message while driving. This bill became the law in Kentucky today, July 15, 2010.  You are no longer allowed to drive a car and text message.  I know this states the obvious, but Kentucky has finally joined the majority of the states in having a law that prohibits texting while driving in an attempt to prevent serious car accidents caused by distracted driving.

What does the new law mean? What activities does it prohibit? What happens to you if you violate the law?

If you are under the age of 18, you are prohibited from using a cell phone while driving a motor vehicle of any kind.  No talking. No texting. No checking your e-mail. You cannot use the phone at all.

If you’re over the age of 18, you cannot use a cell phone to send a text message, receive a text message or read a text message while you’re driving the car.  You can use the cell phone to make a call. There is no requirement that you use a blue tooth or head set.

What happens if you get caught violating the law?  What I mean is what happens if you text while driving and get caught by the police? Until January 1, 2011 absolutely nothing will happen to you (other than being 23 more times as likely to be in an automobile accident, but that is a story for another time). Warnings are going to be given by the police so you will not actually receive a ticket for violating the law. 

After the first of the year you will receive tickets for the offense of texting while driving if you are pulled over in conjunction with any other type of violation. The fines for this are minimal.  For a first offense it is $25.00 fine plus court costs, which in Jefferson County are $134.00.  For a second offense, it is $50.00 fine plus court costs. Not much more than a slap on the wrist in my opinion.

The bottom line is do the obvious and don’t text while you’re driving. You will be in violation of Kentucky law if you do.

Everyone knows the dangers of distracted driving. We know we shouldn’t use a cell phone while we drive, especially texting while driving.  What affect would this have on an auto accident claim in Kentucky? 

The initial investigation into a distracted driving case involving texting or talking on a cell phone at the time of a car accident is very similar to the investigation of any automobile accident case.  A personal injury attorney will obtain a copy of the police report; get photographs of the accident scene and the vehicles. Witnesses will be interviewed. Insurance policies will be reviewed.

Other lines of investigation will include the at-fault driver’s cell phone provider at the time of the Kentucky car accident.  All cell phone records will need to be subpoenaed and reviewed. Those would include all personal numbers and employer numbers. You need to review  all cell phone records.  Cell phone records are important because they can show the time and length of a call on a particular date. If you can pinpoint the exact time of the accident you can show whether or not a defendant was on a cell phone at the time.

A defendant will have to explain the cell phone use during his deposition. Questions I would ask during a deposition would include:

• Were you on the cell phone at, near or during the collision? 
• Were you dialing your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you picking up your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you touching your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Were you looking up a phone number at, near or during the collision?
• Did you have your phone in your hand for any reason at, near or during the collision?
• Were you texting on your phone at, near or during the collision?
• Have you ever used a cell phone while driving?
• Have you ever had an accident with a cell phone? 

Unfortunately this type of litigation is going to become more and more common.  I don’t believe the new Kentucky cell phone law is going to curb the use of cell phones for either talking or texting.  As the verdicts and penalties increase then the behavior will change.  It will take time.

If a personal injury attorney discovers information that indicated a cell phone was being used by the at-fault driver theories of negligent causation and failure to abide by a statute will be considered.  Reckless driving or gross negligence are other theories that may be pursued. The law is developing, but these fact situations may justify punitive damages if the activity was grossly negligent or recklessness.  It will be interesting read Kentucky Court opinions as the law develops. Only time will tell whether any of these theories of negligent will be applied to cell phone use.

In many ways we are moving in the wrong direction.  Kentucky has been too slow in banning texting while driving. Automobile accidents due to distracted driving are increasing. The auto manufacturers are moving at breakneck speed to put more devices on their vehicles while lawmakers are dragging their feet.   

There has been some progress.  President Obama has banned text messaging while driving by all federal employees.  He views text messaging as a deadly epidemic.  I think we have seen through our behavior over the last few years that voluntary compliance of not using a cell phone or texting while driving is way beyond hope. We have too many gadgets in our cars.   

There are some states that have pushed the envelope such as Utah which punishes drivers who killed others while texting with the same penalties as drunk drivers.  That is up to 15 years in prison.  Ironically this law was able to be passed only after two rocket booster scientists were killed after being hit by an oncoming car that swerved into their lane and was texting at the time.   

            Focus Driven has a new web site www.focusdriven.org.   This web site has information on distracted driving, help for victims and family members and ways to get involved.   

In Louisville, Kentucky the police have stated that texting and driving is a growing problem on our roads.  It has been reported that Louisville lawmakers are looking to some 19 other states that already have laws against it for guidance.  Their real concern is how we enforce the law. 

Denise Harper Angel, a Kentucky state senator, is sponsoring a bill which would ban texting while driving. This bill is getting a lot of support.  The bill made it out of the Kentucky House on an 80 to 16 vote. Not only is texting while driving banned, but cell phone use is not allowed for those drivers under 18 years of age.  

There has even been a new phrase coined for texting while driving which is called intexticated.  I hope the new law will focus on banning all texting while driving and not just focus on teenagers.  It is time for us to finally make this change in Kentucky.  Call your State Senator today. If we work together you can save lives.  

We all know that the dangers of texting and driving. It is obvious.  In Kentucky we now have a simulator which demonstrates the dangers of texting and driving. The simulator can be requested from the Office of Highway Safety and is free to the schools.  It has not been used in Jefferson County but I hope our schools will take advantage of the program.  This new program has been developed to demonstrate the problems and many dangers of texting and driving to high school students.  This is presented for no charge by the Kentucky office of Highway Safety. 

Individuals are strapped into an arcade-type racing game.  The simulator has a seat equipped with a seatbelt, a gas pedal and a brake pedal.  There is also a steering wheel and a gearshift. You have three screens in front of you that gives the operator an 180?degree view of a roadway. The driver is requested to operate or drive normally. They are then handed a cell phone and asked to send a text message while they can continue to drive the simulator. 

When they are handed the cell phone it usually sends the car swerving into another lane.  Drivers are allowed to watch a replay of their simulation. When students are shown the simulation replay they see themselves swerving when they thought they were actually driving okay.  Distracted driving has become the leading cause of crashes among 16 to 21 years old.  Texting and driving is a big, big part of this.  

            The US Department of Transportation has banned all federal employees from texting and driving on federal-issued or personal phones while in vehicles owned by the federal government or in vehicles being used on federal business.  This includes the military.  Although the federal government may be the most recent, the National Safety Council indicates that hundreds of private companies and organizations have banned the use of cell phones while driving to reduce accidents at work. 

This needs to be the law in Kentucky and should be the number one priority at the next Kentucky legislative session.  The word is getting out in Kentucky partly thanks to Nicole Meredith, who is a teen.  She wrecked her car on the Gene Snyder last summer when she was texting a friend.  As she was texting she went off the road and totaled her car.  Miraculously she walked away from the crash without injuries.  Meredith has told her story in Frankfort to help kickoff the Transportation Department’s distracted driving campaign.  Hopefully there will be more than just a campaign and soon no text messaging behind the wheel will be the law in Kentucky.  

The statistics are one of the many compelling reasons to make this ban the law in Kentucky.  Some of these statistics are:

·        Distraction from the use of a cell phone while driving delays driver-reaction time

·        Use of cell phone reduces brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent.

·        80 percent of all crashes are related to driver inattention.  The use of a handheld device increases the likelihood of a crash four times.

·        In 2008 nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving an inattentive or distracted driver.

·        Research shows that the youth are the worst offenders.

Believe it or not there were 53,000 distracted driving-related crashes last year in Kentucky.  Link Kentucky kicks off campaign to cut down on distracted driving.  Governor Steve Beshear is considering a policy that would limit distracted driving for all state employees.  Do we really need to have to tell them that it’s time to make this the law?  I hope Kentucky follows suit with Colorado. Their new law dictating how you use your cell phone while driving takes effect December 1, 2009.  After this date no one under the age of 18 will be allowed to talk on a phone while driving.  Everyone will be banned from texting while driving.   

Let’s hope Kentucky is next and a ban on text messaging while driving will be law in Kentucky in the near future. This will help to precent car accidents on our Kentucky roads.