"Texting while driving draws few citations"

Texting has always been an issue while driving because it "impairs" the driver. When a driver is distracted in any way they can be harmful to others and themselves.  This is a lesson we learn the first time behind the wheel.  I was always taught to be cautious of other drivers because you do not know what they are doing.  The unpredictable nature that can arise from driving is intimidating, but should be respected.  Now that cell phones have become huge, so has texting and people text while driving.  I will admit that when I drive the ONLY time I text is when I am at a stop sign or a spot light.  This way I can concentrate on what is important when I am driving...seeing the road. There have been laws out against driving and having your phone out, but according to the Boston Globe not may citations have been given.  Since the ban took effect on Sept. 30, 2010, police have been writing one texting ticket for every 200 speeding tickets said in the Boston Globe.  The Boston Globe also said three drivers in Massachusetts, on average, get ticketed for texting each day - a drop in the bucket in a state with 4.7 million licensed drivers and more than 75,000 miles of road.

In Tennessee they are have similar issues; yet their ban was put into place on July 1, 2009.  According to the TriCities News since January of this year, troopers with the Tennessee Highway Patrol have issued 47 tickets statewide, Tennessee Department of Safety Public. Also said, Texting while driving tickets are considered non-moving violations, which means violators do not receive any points on their driver's record. However, people who break the law do have to pay a maximum fine of $50.

Of the 34 states with texting bans, 25 continue to allow handheld phone use for dialing and talking in the car, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association, a national organization that supports state highway safety agencies (Boston Globe).

I find a lot of these facts to be very interesting.  I knew that regulating texting while driving would be difficult for police officials.  I was once pulled over because an officer thought I was texting.  He said he saw me looking down a lot while driving beside me, but in fact I was messing with my radio/ipod. My phone had been off at the time, but as you can see it is very hard for officers to tell whether or not someone is in fact miss using their phone and endangering others. 

I find that the Boston Globe has more statistics and facts about this situation, whereas the Super Lawyers web-page is all about "helping" you out once you have committed the crime of illegal phone use.  The other web-page is more about a particular state and how they deal with the ban.  I enjoyed once again reading the Boston Globe over the other sites.

Sources:

http://bostonglobe.com/metro/2011/10/08/texting-while-driving-draws-few-citations/yaEiTdL0FDPYBShMSp5zJK/story.xml
http://www.textingaccident.com/2010/08/few-tickets-given-since-enforcing-texting-while-driving-ban/
http://www2.tricities.com/news/2010/apr/23/texting_while_driving_ban_results_in_few_tickets-ar-234929/