States Encouraging Texting While Driving While Making it Illegal
We have written several times about the dangers of driving while using a text messaging device and other applications on the newer model cell phones. In every personal injury or wrongful death case we handle, we always investigate whether the other driver was talking on his/her cell phone, text messaging or doing one of the hundreds of other things one can now do on a cell phone.
We are also monitoring what Florida and other states are doing as far as making it illegal to drive while talking on a cell phone or text messaging or using a cell phone in any way. More and more, states are making it illegal to use a cell phone for any reason while driving. However, I saw this article on Foxnews.com which illustrates the contradictory position some states are taking in regards to cell phones. As the article indicates, 22 states have banned driving while text messaging but also send out messages to cell phones with updated traffic and emergency information. This is obviously a mixed, and potentially dangerous, message being sent by certain state governments. Government officials say that the messages they send to cell phones should only be read before one starts to drive, but obviously not everyone is so disciplined and sending the traffic-related messages clearly encourages people to read their messages while driving. Florida is not one of the states that send traffic-related messages to cell phones via Twitter or other messaging systems.
