Texting and Driving Don’t Mix
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has just signed a new law forbidding minors to use electronic devices while driving. This includes pagers, PDA’s, laptop computers and-yes-cell phones. Here is the gist of Senate Bill 33:
Beginning July 1, anyone under age 18 will be prohibited from using a cell phone, laptop, PDA, pager or two-way messaging device while driving in California. Traffic officers, however, will not be allowed to pull over drivers simply because of a cell phone infraction
The fine for a first offense will be $20 and, for each additional offense, $50. Similar laws are in effect in 15 other states: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, and West Virginia, as well as Washington, D.C.
Here are some statistics from a Seventeen Magazine survey of 16-and 17-year-old drivers:
61%
Number of teens who admit to risky driving habits
46%
Share of the risky drivers who say they text message when driving
51%
Share of the risky drivers who say they talk on cell phones while driving
40%
Number of teens who exceed the speed limit by 10 mph or more while driving
Do you have teens who drive? How do you feel about these laws?
Personally, I’m all for them. My daughter just turned 17,and I’m all for anything that gets her home safely. She’s a good, careful driver, but if she got on a cellphone with one of her friends while driving, I know she would be distracted. Our rule is that she has to pull over and park to use her cell phone, and that she’s only allowed to do that in an emergency.
Electronics have made communication much better and easier, but they can be yet another headache for parents of teenagers!
[teens, teenagers, cell phones, teen drivers, teenage drivers, adolescents, cell phones and driving, Arnold Schwarzenegger, parenting, parenting teens, parenting teenagers[/tags]
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