New Jersey Drivers Banned From Texting and Calls
Several states across the nation have enacted laws against talking on a cell phone while driving, but New Jersey has done a step further and finally gotten the law right. New Jersey has added a ban on text messaging as well. Now, both offenses are primary offenses, meaning you can be pulled over for each offense.
New Jersey joins four other states, including neighboring New York, where talking on a hand-held cell phone is reason enough to get pulled over. The Garden State is the first where text-messaging on the road is a primary offense, meaning police need no other reason to pull a driver over, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
While I usually side with the “let them do what they want” crowd, this is a matter of safety. We have seen far too many people that are distracted just talking on a phone. If you attempt to drive while text messaging, it is impossible to be paying attention to the road. That makes you an unsafe driver and a danger to other people on the road.
Drivers can still use their cell phones to contact police or emergency services, and can talk at any time with a hands-free device. But crash statistics suggest that those headsets and earpieces may not make conversations in the car any safer.
In 2006, nearly half of the 3,580 phone-related crashes in New Jersey involved a hands-free device, according to transportation officials. Five of 11 fatal accidents involving a cell phone that year also involved a hands-free device.
While using hands free devices may appear safer, they are still a distraction. It is also not that difficult to pull over to the side of the road to answer a call.
But Cataldo questioned how police would spot drivers typing out a message.
“If you’re doing 75 miles per hour,” he said, “the cop has to be right alongside to see you.”
Uh, no. Anyone who has been in a car has seen people texting by their erratic behavior. Rare is the person that can text on one hand, drive with the other, while not look at the keypad.
Twenty-One other state legislatures are also considering a ban on driving and texting. Hopefully, they will pass similar laws and help make the nation’s roads a little bit safer.
