Blog

Virginia Drivers "Texting" Subject to Fines Come July 1, 2009

On July 1, 2009, it will be illegal to text using a cellular device when operating a motor vehicle on Virginia highways. Code section 46.2-1078.1 goes into effect then, and anyone convicted faces a $20.00 fine and court costs; a second offense enhances the fine to $50.00. Virginia joins 11 other states and the District of Columbia which have enacted laws banning "texting" in the driver's seat.

Hopefully, enactment of the "no texting" law will reduce the number of traffic accidents and fatalities on I-95, I-64 and I-295, in and around Richmond. Driver inattention is the leading factor in most crashes and near-crashes, according to a 2006 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI). Nearly 80 percent of crashes and 65 percent of near-crashes involved some form of driver inattention within three seconds of the event.  

In a Fox News article by Joshua Rhett Miller, published  May 11, 2009, transportation officials expressed concern that texting remains a "serious issue" on the nation's roadways, and transportation systems. Recently, a Boston area trolley operator failed to see a red light while reportedly sending his girlfriend a text message and smashed into the back of another trolley, injuring 50 people.

"For every two seconds a driver's eyes are off the road, a motorist is twice as likely to be involved in a crash, said Troy Green, national spokesman for AAA. "Texting while driving ... requires your full attention and leaves no room for distraction," Green said. "You'd have to be foolish at best and delusional at worst to think you can send and receive text messages while operating a motor vehicle effectively and safely....We believe that's something that should be banned."

Texting and cell phone use have been blamed for numerous deadly crashes in the past few years, including:

Nov. 20, 2008

Aug. 6, 2008

Jan. 3, 2008: Stephanie Phillips, 37, and Heather Hurd, 26, were killed when a trucker reportedly distracted by text-messaging on his cell phone crashed into their car along U.S. 27 in Florida.

Aug. 13, 2007:

June 28, 2007

April 26, 2007

March 18, 2007: Sela Anne Kalama, 19, was charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter after she reportedly drove off the end of a road and into the Elwha River in Washington. Vanna Francis, 17, and Ronnie Scroggins, 15, were killed in the crash. Kalama and four others swam to shore and suffered only minor injuries.

Dec. 20, 2006

June 18, 2006

May 29, 2006

 

 

: Jessalyn Sanders, 6, was struck and killed by a truck as she crossed a street near her home in Tulsa, Okla. The driver of the truck, Justin Pearsall, reportedly told police he had reached down to answer his cell phone and did not see the girl.: Karyn "Nikki" Cordell, 22, and her unborn child die in a crash in Deerfield Township, Ohio. Cordell's 1998 Chevrolet Cavalier was slammed head-on by a 2004 Ford Explorer driven by 16-year-old Alexander Manocchio, who was allegedly reaching for a ringing cell phone at the time of the wreck.: Brittanie Montgomery, a 19-year-old dancer for the NBA's New Orleans Hornets, died in a crash in Oklahoma City while reportedly using her cell phone as she drove to practice.: Eight people were killed when a semi trailer driven by Leonardo Cooksey, 32, slammed into stopped traffic on the Indiana Toll Road. Cooksey, of Mount Prospect, Ill., told state police that he was distracted when his cell phone beeped, indicating the battery was low.: Text messages were sent and received on the cell phone of Bailey Goodman, 17, moments before her sport-utility vehicle slammed head-on into a truck, killing her and four other recent high school graduates in upstate New York. Ashley D. Miller, 18, of Glendale, Ariz., and Stacey Stubbs, 40, of Chino Valley, Ariz., die in a crash after Miller reportedly drifted across the center line because she was text-messaging on her cell phone.: Janet Indermuehle, 48, was reportedly speeding and using her cell phone while driving as she lost control of her car and crashed near Mount Horeb, Wis. Indermuehle, her 15-year-old son Daniel, and a 14-year-old passenger, Tiffany Kastner, were killed in the wreck.: Stephanie Phelps, 16, and her 4-month-old daughter, Katherine Pulsifer, were killed when the young mother, who was talking her cell phone, ran a red light and crashed into cement truck in Amarillo, Texas.

Richmond Virginia Accident Lawyer Urges Reporting Speeding Police and State Troopers

Virginia lawyers who litigate traffic accidents see all kinds of quirky things. Even pillars of the community get carried away when behind the wheel and do things they ordinarily would not do -- and get carried away to the hospital!

A few weeks ago this happened to two volunteer fire fighters in Spotsylvania County, Virginia. They were responding to a house fire shortly after midnight near Route 1 when their truck crossed the double yellow line and crashed into an embankment. Both were injured and had to be transported to the hospital in Fredericks burg.

Thankfully, neither firefighter was killed, but the investigating officer charged the driver with failing to keep proper control of his vehicle. Essentially, the fireman was speeding. But how many times have you seen a police cruiser racing along the highway without its lights flashing or siren on? How many times when traveling on I-95, I-64, or I-295 have you seen a state police blue and gray zoom past your car and the trooper did not have his car's lights flashing or siren on to alert you? Does the badge excuse these acts? Never!!

Those flashing lights and wailing sirens are on police cars to WARN other drivers and pedestrians that a fast moving car is nearby. Moreover, that it is a police car engaged in serious or life-threating mission. Regulations of virtually every police department in the country require officers to use the "lights and siren" when they have to exceed the posted speed limit. It is a safety measure to protect the public and the officer.

With good reason. More than 20% of the auto accidents that occur in Virginia each year are caused by "driver distraction" (or inattention), and another 10% are caused by excessive speed. Therefore, a third of the accidents occurring statewide in Virginia are caused by these two things careless law officers do from time to time. This needs to be stopped, or at least controlled.

Next time you see a police officer speeding without "lights and siren," take down the information from his car, and report him to his agency. Police supervisors need to know when their officers are breaking the law in this manner because, whether they realize it or not, these people are endangering the lives of the people they are charged to serve and protect.