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House votes to ban text messaging while driving
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(AP Photo)
ANNAPOLIS – One text message could soon cost you $500. The Maryland House of Delegates voted yesterday to approve proposed legislation that would ban writing or sending text messages while driving by a 133-2 vote. Virginia and the District of Columbia already have similar laws in place. The Maryland Senate recently approved a similar bill that also outlaws reading text messages while driving. While the specific acts to be prohibited by the final bill are still to be reconciled between the two bills, a $500 fine seems to be the consensus.
According to the memo in support of the Senate bill, a study by Nationwide Insurance found that 20% of all drivers send or receive text messages. A Zogby poll of drivers between the ages of 18 and 24 found that 66% admitted to texting while driving. While no study has been able to accurately quantify the risk presented by texting while driving, experts estimate that driver inattention is a factor in 80% of motor vehicle crashes.
Some lawmakers predict that the text message ban is merely a stepping stone to an outright ban of cell phone usage while driving in Maryland. The validity of such a ban would be disputed because of the weaker nexus between talking on the cell phone and driver inattention.
I have two problems with the proposed text message legislation. Don’t misunderstand my disapproval; I certainly agree that texting while driving is an accident waiting to happen. And, a law that prohibits the act would undoubtedly reduce the frequency of automobile accidents.
The Penalty - The legislation is inevitably going to pass with the penalty of a $500 misdemeanor. That would render the issued citations “must appear.” Those receiving the citations would be required to appear in court to answer for their nimble-fingered offense without any option to simply pay the fine. A “must appear” penalty in this instance encumbers an already overloaded judicial system unnecessarily without utility.
Enforceability - The proposed law would be virtually unenforceable and would result in many non-texting motorists being swept in unjustly. Although the bill sounds simple in theory, how can we reasonably expect police officers to distinguish between motorists reading/sending text messages and motorists checking the time on their phone or scrolling through their contacts list to make a call? The latter two occurrences are not prohibited by the statute. Are we going to encourage defendants to present evidence of phone records at day-long trials?
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