As of yesterday, Wisconsin became the 30th state to legally ban texting while driving. Serving as an addition to inattentive driving – which is defined as the failure to pay proper attention to the road while driving – the new law states that “no person may drive … any motor vehicle while composing or sending an electronic text message or an electronic e-mail message.”
The ban is a primary law, which means officers can pull drivers over solely for texting – no other violation, like speeding or swerving, is required, says the Wisconsin Department of Transportation.
“It’s a pretty universal law to enforce,” said Jay Dobson, police sergeant for the university. “An officer must develop reasonable suspicion that a driver is in fact texting before they pull that person over.”
Drivers pulled over while violating the new ban can face fines between $20 and $400, as well as four points removed from their license. Second-time offenders could rack up fines from $200 to $800, Dobson said.
“In 2009, inattentive driving was a contributing factor in 19,578 of the reported crashes … 14 percent of all fatal crashes,” he said, citing the recent crashes as a catalyst for the law going into effect.
While the law prohibits the act of texting, it says nothing about reading text messages, surfing the Internet or dialing numbers – all actions that are still technically legal.
“Just having an open phone visible is fine – we’ll need to see a driver actively punching on a phone keyboard to do anything,” Dobson said.
Despite harsh punishment that the ban entails, senior Jesse Brandenburg sees the new law as a waste of time and another reason for officers to pull people over.
“Since the law only specifically prohibits the writing of text messages and does not include the act of reading messages, browsing the Web, or using the phone as a GPS, an officer could never accuse an individual of texting without breaching their privacy.”
Brandenburg believes the law needs to focus on more than just texting, as other phone activities while driving can be just as dangerous.
“I generally believe this law has no place right now,” he said. “Most people I know use their phones more frequently to make phone calls, check the weather, navigate to a destination, Tweet or check Facebook. Until laws are made against all of these things, singling text messaging out doesn’t make sense.”
As the new law begins, Dobson said students can expect a thirty-day grace period where, if pulled over, they’ll most likely see a written warning instead a ticket. This is not to say that it should be taken likely though.
“If the right circumstances exist, an officer will still issue a citation,” he said. “It’s mainly just an advisory period to make sure people are aware of it.”
