How To Make Distracted Driving Laws More Effective

A recent article by Tri-Cities' NBC affiliate

, KNDO, brought up the question of whether or not the roads are safer because of new texting-while-driving laws. As a personal injury attorney, this article really caught my attention and made me consider how I would answer that question.

Earlier this year, a Washington state senate bill (SB 6345) was passed in the state legislature, making any non-hands-free use of a cell phone a fineable driving infraction. This bill made any non-hands-free use of a cell phone while driving a primary offense. The punishment for breaking this law is a $124 ticket. In the KNDO article, the question isn't whether texting-while-driving is dangerous (according to the bill, texting drivers have a 23% higher risk of an accident), but whether or not the law actually works toward solving the problem.

What needs to be asked is whether the reality of the bill's application actually results in a worse distraction for drivers. It is very difficult for police officers to see if someone is texting-while-driving, and even more difficult to prove in court. In order for the cop to have a good case, they need to follow the driver for a long time and see the ramifications of this negligent driving. At some point, though, the police officer will have to get a visual of the driver texting, and because of this, a lot of people now hide their phones low while texting. This prevents the driver from even kind of seeing the road ahead, thus amplifying thedanger of distracted driving.

Obviously you can't really blame the law for this problem, but we should ask ourselves whether or not there is a better way to stop texting-while-driving. I believe the solution could be in greater punishment for those that are caught. If the fine stays at $124, people may think that the slight risk of being caught is rather meaningless, because there is not a huge price to pay. As it stands, the infraction does not become part of the driver's record, and is not reported to insurance companies. Numerous reports, however, have stated that drivers who are distracted by texting or holding their phone while talking are just as dangerous as drunk drivers. So while this might sound somewhat severe, why not make the punishment equivalent to that of a DUI? Both show great disregard to the other drivers on the road and put thousands of lives at risk every year. If the punishment for texting-while-driving is a large fine, potential jail time and a stern mark on a driving record, then there's no way most people would consider the risk to text and drive.

We need laws to address the problem of texting-while-driving. But laws only accomplish their goals when the punishment outweighs the benefit of breaking them. Our culture is clearly much more accepting of texting and driving than drinking and driving, but it is time that we recognize that the two are about equivalently dangerous and deserve similar punishments.

by: Jason G Epstein

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