Drivers weigh in on texting and driving ban - ABC 33/40 - Birmingham News, Weather, Sports
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We begin with a problem at least for many Alabamians. Come Wednesday, if you are caught texting or reading texts or emails while you are behind the wheel you can be pulled over and fined. You will also get two points against your drivers license.
There's no way around it. Your texts messages, tweets, and facebook posts are going to have to wait until you're out of the car.
Yes, it will take some getting used to for some, but there's no better reminder than flashing blue lights in your rear view mirror.
"Well I have kids so that's what I try to get my daughter not to do. Is talk and text while she's driving," said one driver.
Starting August 1st, this father has some backup. Alabama becomes the 39th state to ban texting while driving. The man behind the bill? Representative Bill McClendon of Springville.
"The fatality rate for texting and driving is essentially the same as it is for drunk driving. We're all pretty passionate and concerned about drunk driving. And for the same reason, we thought it was time to do something about texting and driving," said McClendon.
According to the CDC , some 12,000 daily crashes are attributed to distracted driving. It bothers many drivers who don't text behind the wheel. They say they feel less safe on the road than they did five years ago.
"I see people weaving and doing some rather erratic things and I look over and they are texting," said one driver.
"What's the scariest thing in your opinion? not being able to pay attention to the driving, it takes two hands to text. It's kind of hard to steer the car," said another driver.
Law enforcement officers are on alert. They see the tell tale signs of texting. And can now pull you over for that alone. State trooper Curtis Summerville says distracted driving is nothing new to him.
"We have two goals. One of those goals is to save lives, the other is to prevent crashes. There are two ways you can do that. You do that through enforcement and you do that through education and we're going to do both," he said.
A first offense for texting and driving is 25 dollars. The second offense is 50 dollars. The third offense is 75 dollars. Plus there will be court costs. For each offense you also receive two points on your drivers license.
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