Citations Increase As Distracted Driving Laws Change
We all know distracted driving kills. According to The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 3,450 people were killed in motor vehicle crashes involving distracted drivers in 2016. During daylight hours, about 481,000 drivers use cell phones while driving.
Most states have banned texting while driving, see graphic below. Novice drivers are banned from texting in Arizona and Missouri. There is no ban in Montana. Get with the program Montana!
New Georgia Law
A new Georgia distracted driving law, which bans the use of a phone while operating a motor vehicle, went into effect on July 1. Almost 1,000 citations have been issued relating to the law, which is more than 30% increase from the year before. Consequences range from $50 to $150, along with one to three points on driver's license.
Not only can drivers not text, they are prohibited from having a phone in their hand OR using any body part to support to phone. This is an interesting distinction. Did you know that MOST states don't have a ban on talking on a phone while driving, see below.
Unfortunately, this includes Kansas, my beloved home state. Get it together, Kansas.
The Kansas Konza Prairie - beautiful, but needs better distracted driving laws.What's wild to me is that most states (38, see below) ban young drivers from using cellphones at all while driving. What's a young driver? It varies state by state, but most have a ban on driver's with a learner's permit and/or driver's under 18. Why are you not allowed to talk on the phone while learning to drive, but then on your 18th/21st birthday or when you actually get a license, you can talk on the phone freely?
Hopefully more states will ban using cellphones while driving. This needs to change, together we can keep everyone safe.
