New Bill Would Ban Drivers from Texting While Behind the Wheel

A study released last week by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) discovered that car drivers who talk or listen to someone on a cell phone while driving increase their risk of auto crashes by 1.3 times. Truck drivers who text message up their risk of a motor vehicle crash 23.2 times as compared to a non-distracted driver.

Here in Massachusetts, there are no laws against text messaging while driving, but there is a ban against cell phones for school bus drivers. Earlier this summer, the state Senate approved a bill that would ban texting while driving, but the bill was later overridden. Since May, over a dozen bills relating to driving and cell phone use have been have introduced in the State Senate.

So far, five states have passed legislation banning handheld cell phones for all drivers. Fourteen states (and Washington, DC) have passed legislation banning text messaging for all drivers. No state has completely banned all types of cell phones for all drivers, regardless of age. However, a bill that would prohibit all car and truck drivers from text messaging or emailing while driving was introduced in the U.S. Senate last week.

Texting big risk for drivers, The Martha’s Vineyard Times, August 6, 2009
Contact our Massachusetts traffic accident attorneys if you have been injured on the road.