FWIW, few drivers nabbed by texting bans

[The Straight Story]

As more states draw the line on texting while driving, only about one citation is issued per day, on average.

Statewide texting-while-driving bans have become an increasingly popular tool against the deadly practice since Washington state introduced the first one in 2007; 39 states and the District of Columbia now have such bans.

But a driver stands little chance of getting ticketed for texting by state police in most of the nation, with some state agencies averaging fewer than one citation per day, according to a USA TODAY survey of state police agencies.

...

Since the Louisiana ban on texting while driving was enacted on July 1, 2008, the Louisiana State Police have written 1,059 citations, says Capt. Doug Cain. That's an average of 18 per month.

...

He says it's much easier for police to enforce laws governing speeding or seat belt use than texting. "You're going from watching a 3,000-pound vehicle (that is) speeding, to texting, where you're looking at a driver with a smartphone that weighs a couple of ounces," McNaull says. "Ultimately, the goal of traffic laws and traffic enforcement isn't to write a certain number of tickets. It's to change behavior. It's to discourage people from engaging in dangerous behavior."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/05/05/texting-driving-bans-enforcement-tickets/2133815/

[mike_c]

1. I watched a guy texting while driving last week go around a curve...

...and fumble his phone right out the open window of his pickup truck, to be crushed by a car in the oncoming lane.

Schadenfreude.

[Fumesucker]

3. *snort*

[Fumesucker]

2. Cops are probably too busy texting to enforce the law n/t

[TheMadMonk]

4. So lay in wait at stop lights, take a photo, send it to a patrol car...

...waiting down the road.

For extra fun, anyone stupid enough to deny their offence gets a free, on the spot, vehicle fitness check.

Not that it that hard to notice a driver using a handheld device in a vehicle in motion. Untrained civilians spot it all the time. Just as we notice idiots eating, shaving, putting on makeup, using a map, reading, and otherwise doing anything but paying propper attention to their driving.

I strongly suspect the reason that so few citations are issued for such offences, despite their ubiquity, is that cops are "encouraged" not to disrupt traffic flow when it's heaviest.

[loli phabay]

8. yup sometimes you let fish go as its safer than trying the net them, especially with heavy traffic.

[dipsydoodle]

5. UK - £90 fine if you're texting at the wheel: Minister warns of safety crackdown

Motorists who put lives at risk by sending text messages at the wheel are to face tougher penalties.

Fines will be increased by 50 per cent to £90, Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin indicated yesterday. However critics said the higher penalty has to be backed up by tougher enforcement as texting by drivers is now rife.


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2321590/90-fine-youre-texting-wheel-Minister-warns-safety-crackdown.html#ixzz2SmcQ16Mm

[Gravitycollapse]

6. It's funny because almost every officer I see driving is looking at his or her computer.

[loli phabay]

9. there are exemptions for emergency vehicles same with cell phones.

Most times on the cad its just a quick look to confirm the address for a call or an alert, you can run a tag pretty easily without to much distraction but for longer stuff its better to pull over.

[Gravitycollapse]

10. I've seen officers in stop and go traffic staring at the screen for 30 seconds or more.

[jakeXT]

7. Saw a blind man do it