Should There Be a Federal Law Against Texting While Driving?

Texting while driving. A choice experiment conducted daily by drivers around the globe. An easy temptation, but lives are put on the line. Teens understand that texting while driving is dangerous, but this is often not enough motivation to end the practice.¹ Several states have adopted a law in order to prevent the usage of texting while driving and to further punish those who do it. But should this law take on the federal stage? Should texting and driving be enforced by a higher authority in order to diminish the deaths caused by it? Studies have shown that typing and reading messages affect drivers’ capability to pay attention, to respond to sudden traffic events, to keep their vehicle in their lane, and to maintain speed.² These issues are all safety concerns which could be prevented.

In 2009 the Oklahoma Highway Safety Office released their annual report. The report addressed the many bills proposed about distracted driving. At the end of the report the status of the bill is named unsuccessful.³ What is the basis of the laws against texting and driving? The laws passed in certain states prohibit all drivers from the use of a mobile communication device while driving, whether talking on the phone, texting, or emailing. People that break this law are subject to being pulled over and heavily fined in states where it is against the law.

Of the fifty states, more than thirty-five have passed laws against texting and driving. Arizona and Montana are two states in which no laws prohibit texting while driving. Florida is a state in which the law is “murky.” Mississippi and Missouri only prohibit texting in a vehicle by minors. New Mexico, Texas, and West Virginia have no statewide ban. In states such as Arkansas, Indiana, and Washington it is prohibited unless there is an emergency.⁴ States that do have texting and driving laws have seen improvements since passing their bans on distracted driving.

So, have the bans in over thirty-five U.S. states proven effective? Studies from the ban in the District of Columbia showed that the ban immediately lowered the percentage of drivers talking on the phone by 41% and five years later the rate was 43% lower than would have been expected without the ban. In New York, the usage declined by 47% and seven years after, the ban usage was 24% lower than expected without the ban. Compliance was lower in New York than in D.C. because there was more intensive enforcement in D.C.⁵ It was also found that the percentage of drivers who reported never talking on the phone while driving was higher in states with all-driver bans on handheld phone use than in states without a ban applying to all drivers.⁶ It has been proven that the passing of texting and driving bans have improved the percentage of distracted drivers in the respective states.

In the last few years the United States has seen a rise in injuries and fatalities caused by young adults who are distracted while driving their cars. In an article called, “LOL? Texting While Driving Is No Laughing Matter” Alexis M. Farris states that more than 50% of respondents ages sixteen to twenty-nine admitted to texting while driving. Farris reviews a survey where nearly five thousand United States consumers were addressed. The National Safety Council estimates that usage of any mobile device in a vehicle causes 28% of all crashes each year. This totals to approximately 1.6 million crashes annually.⁷ In another conducted survey over the usage of a cell phone while driving, 228 respondents participated. Of the 228, 71.5% were either in college or had completed some of college. Of those in high school were 26.3%.⁸ It seems as though texting and driving has become a popular thing for younger people. This is most likely due to the addiction of social media and technology for the younger crowds. In a study over traffic citations and crashes, 3 out of 4 (74.3%) young adults engage in texting while operating a vehicle.⁹ In 2012, 2013, and 2015, Law Firm Edgar Synder and Associates released their distracted driving accident statistics. In 2012, 3,328 people were killed in distraction related crashes. About 421,000 people were injured. 11% of drivers under the age of 20 were involved in fatal accidents and were reported to be distracted during the accident. One fourth of teenagers respond to at least one text message every time they drive. In 2013, 3,154 people were killed in crashes where cell phones were used. In 2015, 3,477 people were killed in a motor vehicle crash involving distracted drivers. The Law Firm also covered information about a National Survey on Distracted Driving Attitudes and Behaviors. The survey was taken in 2012. Nearly half of drivers admit to answering their phones while driving, which can be just as dangerous as texting. One in ten drivers surveyed said that at least sometimes they will send text messages or emails while driving. Of the drivers surveyed, 14% did text or email. A majority of the respondents supported laws that banned talking on cell phones, texting, or emailing while driving.¹⁰

What are the consequences of texting and driving one may ask? If caught texting and driving, the driver is susceptible to points on their driving record, suspension of a license, mandatory driving safety classes, monetary fines from $20-$2,000, vehicle impoundment, criminal charges, and/or jail time.¹¹ All of these consequences are risked daily when drivers decide to take their eyes off the road for a split second to read or respond to messages, or answer their phones.

The ban on texting and driving should be passed on a federal level. In order to receive adequate awareness for all people, the ban should be put into place by Congress. If all states adopted the ban, accidents would decrease and be prevented, deaths would likely decrease, the number of tickets from distracted driving would lessen, less distractions would be made available, and awareness would be spread on a national level. There are currently no federal laws or national bans on distracted driving. Many states have stepped up and taken their own action.¹² It is implied by common sense that looking at something other than the road while driving will increase the chances of crashing. Regardless of your state, your eyes and focus should be on the road – not your phone. Texting and driving makes a crash up to 23 times more likely. According to a recent study, distracted driving is six times more dangerous than drunk driving. Play it safe and make sure you’re on the right side of the law. Eliminate as many distractions as possible when you drive.¹³

A ban against these practices should be put into place by Congress. Lawmakers at the state, federal and local levels are examining a wide variety of issues related to driver distraction, and the most common concern is the potential distraction caused by cell phones and other technology in the car.¹⁴ In December of 2018, the United States Court of Appeals argued Meador v. Apple. The case was argued by Kimberly Meador on behalf of the estate of the deceased Sandra Jones and deceased Russell Jones. On April 30, 2013, Ashley Kubiak was driving her truck when she received a message on her iPhone 5. Kubiak looked down quickly to read the message and hit a vehicle carrying two adults and a child. The adults died, while the child survived rendered paraplegic. Kubiak was convicted of two counts of criminally negligent homicide. Kubiak sued Apple in federal court because she alleged that the accident was caused by Apple’s failure to implement the patent on the iPhone 5 and Apple’s failure to warn iPhone 5 users of the risks of distracted driving.¹⁵ The case verdict was that a smartphone could not be the cause of the injuries in the case. Just like the case of Meador v. Apple, the United States Court of Appeals should take action in making the ban against texting and driving a federal law. The Supreme Court and Congress are held high on a pedestal and if they made this a federal law it would be highly respected and honored.

What would a law against texting and driving look like? A law of this sort would most likely mirror those that have been passed in the states. D.C. is a good example of the way the law should be enforced. The District of Columbia’s distracted driving laws contain cell phone and text-messaging restrictions. It is illegal in D.C. for all motorists to use a cell phone or electronic device. Drivers are not allowed to talk on the phone or send or receive text messages or emails. If hands-free technology exists in the vehicle, and the driver is able to keep both hands on the wheel, then the driver’s usage is permissible. Just like in D.C. the punishments for disobeying the law should result in four types of penalties. The first offense should be a $100 fine, while the second should be a $150 fine. The third offense should be faced with a $200 fine and a license suspension for 30-90 days. The final offense for violations involving death, injuries, or property damage should be at least $1,000 in fines and/or a maximum 180 days in jail.¹⁶ D.C. serves as a model for the proposed law. It should be illegal to talk on the phone and/or receive and respond to a message, and one should be punished for risking lives.

Would the decision to make a federal law against texting and driving be unconstitutional? If someone were claiming a constitutional right to drive while using her cell phone it is difficult to imagine how such a claim would succeed on merits. The Constitution gives power to police to keep the public safe in the Fourteenth Amendment.¹⁷ Making a law against texting and driving is enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment and gives police the power to pull people over for putting the public in danger by texting while driving. But who has the power to enforce this new law? This new law should be able to be enforced by public safety officials of all sorts. This includes police officers, state troopers, and county sheriffs. Punishments should be afflicted by safety officials regarding tickets and by a judge regarding the extremity.

The decision to make a law against texting and driving should be enacted by Congress. Without the law becoming a federal law it is up to each individual state to make up its mind. The law needs to be passed so that each state keeps as many people as safe as possible, especially young adults who are mainly targeted by distracted driving. Research has shown that many deaths have been caused by the failure to comply with the rules against distracted driving. There are only positives about passing this law, because after all, we have seen the effects of the states who have already passed it and those who have not passed it.

Bibliography

Bergmark, Regan W., Emily Gliklich, Rong Guo, and Richard E. Gliklich. “Texting While Driving: The Development and Validation of the Distracted Driving Survey and Risk Score among Young Adults.” Injury Epidemiology. Springer International Publishing, March 1, 2016. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40621-016-0073-8.

Bloch, Samantha. “Distracted Driving: Cellphone Use.” Distracted Driving | Cellphone Use, July 20, 2021. https://www.ncsl.org/research/transportation/cellular-phone-use-and-texting-while-driving-laws.aspx.

Braitman, Keli A, and Anne T McCartt. “National Reported Patterns of Driver Cell Phone Use in the United States.” Taylor & Francis, December 2, 2010. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389588.2010.504247.

Caird, Jeff K., Kate A. Johnston, Chelsea R. Willness, Mark Asbridge, and Piers Steel. “A Meta-Analysis of the Effects of Texting on Driving.” Accident Analysis & Prevention. Pergamon, June 28, 2014. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S000145751400178X.

Constitution of the United States of America (1787).

Cook, Jerry L, and Randall M Jones. “Texting and Accessing the Web While Driving: Traffic Citations and Crashes among Young Adult Drivers.” Taylor & Francis, December 1, 2011. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389588.2011.620999.

Farris, Alexis M. “LOL – Texting While Driving Is No Laughing Matter: Proposing a Coordinated Response to Curb This Dangerous Activity.” HeinOnline, March 8, 2021. https://heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?handle=hein.journals%2Fwajlp36&div=11&id=&page=.

John McCurley, Attorney. “Washington D.C.’s Cellphone-Use & Texting-While-Driving Laws.” www.drivinglaws.org. Nolo, September 19, 2018. https://www.drivinglaws.org/resources/district-columbia-text-cell-phone-laws.html.

McCartt, Anne T, Laurie A Hellinga, Laura M Strouse, and Charles M Farmer. “Long-Term Effects of Handheld Cell Phone Laws on Driver Handheld Cell Phone Use.” Taylor & Francis, April 5, 2010. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/15389580903515427.

Meador v. Apple (https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=12962178071247257446&q=texting+and+driving&hl=en&as_sdt=3,37 December 18, 2018).

“Texting & Distracted Driving: Laws, Statistics, Facts & Dangers.” Texting & Distracted Driving: Laws, Statistics, Facts & Dangers, June 26, 2017. https://www.araglegal.com/individuals/learning-center/topics/car-and-driver/know-your-texting-and-driving-facts.

“Texting and Driving Accident Statistics – Distracted Driving.” Edgar Snyder & Associates. Law Offices of Edgar Snyder & Associates, August 8, 2019. https://www.edgarsnyder.com/car-accident/cause-of-accident/cell-phone/cell-phone-statistics.html.

“Texting and Driving Laws and Fines by State.” Auto-Related News, Trends, & Tips – I Drive Safely. I Drive Safely, 2021. https://www.idrivesafely.com/defensive-driving/trending/texting-and-driving-laws-and-fines-state.

Tran, Jessica. “Texting While Driving Laws.” LegalMatch Law Library. LegalMatch, June 24, 2018. https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/texting-while-driving-laws.html.

Ward, Kevin L, and G Thomas. 2009 Overview on Highway Safety. Oklahoma City, OK, 2009.

https://icsw.nhtsa.gov/nhtsa/whatsup/safeteaweb/FY09/FY09ARs/OK_FY09AnnualReport.pdf

· Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau ·. “The Dangers of Distracted Driving.” Federal Communications Commission, May 4, 2021. https://www.fcc.gov/consumers/guides/dangers-texting-while-driving#:~:text=While%20there%20is%20no%20national,Highway%20Safety%20Association%20(GHSA)%3A.