Massachusetts Texting While Driving Ban: 3 Years Today

Texting while drivingDrivers may claim they are not texting behind the wheel. But Massachusetts State Police say that at least 440 of them were doing just that in June.

State Police cited these drivers over three weeks in the Merrimack Valley, part of a federally funded enforcement grant involving 12 communities. Another 509 drivers were ticketed for impeded operation, after being caught engaged in distractions such as reading and grooming while driving.

The numbers are notable as today marks three years since the Safe Driving Law took effect in Massachusetts, placing new restrictions on drivers under 18 years old and banning all drivers from texting while driving. Three years later, how well are you complying with the law?

The law bans texting by drivers, including reading, writing or sending messages. This includes text messages, e-mails and messages sent through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Drivers cannot text while driving or sitting at red lights, intersections or on other public ways. Texting while driving is a primary offense, meaning police can pull drivers over when they suspect the behavior.

The law also covers more than cell phones. It bans communicating through any device while you are driving, including tablet computers and laptops.

Fines for Texting While Driving in Massachusetts
Drivers are permitted to talk on cell phones in Massachusetts. But operators under 18 years old are banned from all cell phone use, a measure passed as part of the Safe Driving Law.

One area of confusion with the texting while driving ban has been the use of GPS, especially GPS apps in smartphones. The Registry of Motor Vehicles reported back in 2010 that such use was not a violation of the law, though State Police said they would use discretion with GPS units and could cite drivers for “unsafe operation.”

Across the country, 41 states ban texting while driving. Fines in Massachusetts drivers are $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second and $500 for third and all subsequent acts. When a driver causes serious injury or death as a result of texting, they can also face criminal charges.

One Massachusetts newspaper has called for more. In today’s edition, the Worcester Telegram & Gazette noted that drivers who violate the law do not face any impact on their license or auto insurance rates and called on the Legislature to strengthen laws.

“To create a true deterrent, lawmakers must strengthen the penalties, particularly for second and subsequent offenses,” the Telegram & Gazette wrote.

Maybe the Legislature will review the law. Enforcement will continue. State Police have launched Phase 2 of their “Text with one hand, ticket in the other,” campaign in the Lowell and Merrimack Valley area.

But the discussion goes beyond a $100 ticket to safety and responsibility on the road. Any cell phone use that takes a driver’s attention off the road is negligent and can cause a car accident resulting in serious injuries or death. So we ask again. Have you complied with the law? Are there are additional steps you could take?

If you have any doubts about safety, or the terrible effects three seconds of inattention might bring, please watch this video: “From One Second To The Next,” by Werner Herzog. It is part of AT&T’s It Can Wait campaign.

Related:
Texting While Driving Crackdown Nets 440, Lowell Sun.

Tougher penalties needed, Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Safe driving law applies to more than just texting behind the wheel, The Boston Globe.
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Please Put Down Your Cell Phone, Eliminate Driving Distractions for Back to School

Texting while drivingWe suggest parents now talk to your children about the rules for getting to and from school safely. No skipping over the hard part: talking about when everyone, parents and children alike, should put down the cell phone.

Walking to School. Encourage your child to use sidewalks and crosswalks with crossing guards or walk signals. Agree on a route with your child and never let them walk alone. Every year, drive or walk the route yourself so you can identify any problems.

Bicycling. Make sure your child wears a helmet – it’s the law and it’s common sense. While your child has many of the same rights as a driver, remind them to take it slow in parking lots or and when passing cars. They should learn to make eye contact with drivers in their vicinity–that way they can read the intention of the driver more clearly. Read about Massachusetts law for bicyclists.

Late Activities. It will get dark earlier now. Make sure you child has a safe way home after it gets dark. Consider picking them up or make other arrangements.


Reflective Clothing.
If your teenager needs to walk at night or be near traffic, consider purchasing reflective clothing to keep at home. Many backpacks and sneakers have reflectors–look for products like that.

Ask Your Children to Put Away Their Cell Phone. When students are distracted, they may not be able to respond to drivers who are not using caution. Safe Kids Worldwide, a non-profit organization, recently reported that it observed 34,000 children crossing the street near 68 U.S. schools. Of these, one in five high school students were distracted by an electronic device. The rate was one in eight among middle school students.

The numbers are significant because pedestrian accidents involving teens age 16-19 have increased 25 percent over the past five years, Safe Kids Worldwide reports. This age group now accounts for about half of all pedestrian accidents among youth.


School Buses.
At the beginning of the year, stand out at the bus stop with your children. Explain to them the appropriate areas to stand while waiting and how to board the bus.

Parents and Teen Drivers: Commit to No Distracted Driving 
Finally, parents if you are driving, commit to putting away your cell phone. Texting while driving is against the law in Massachusetts and that includes viewing texts, e-mails or browsing the Internet.

Drivers need to eliminate distractions, especially when children are in the car, and especially in busy drop-off areas at schools, because car accidents can occur. This time of year, bus drivers and other parents who are driving are still getting used to their new routine and may not use proper caution when stopping or turning.

Also avoid using your cell phone while parked outside of schools or at bus stops waiting for your children – even just to make phone calls. An accident can happen in the instant you let your guard down and reach for your cell phone to view a text message or check in on a social media account.

If you have a teenager who drives, remind them not to use their cell phone while driving (this is the law in Massachusetts for junior operators). You have probably done so in the past, but explain the school parking lot is busy and there is no room for distracted driving. If they want to use their cell phone in a parking lot, suggest they park the car, get out and walk off the pavement first.

Related:
Distraction.gov

Filmmaker Explores Painful Consequences of Texting While Driving

About Breakstone, White & Gluck

The Boston car accident lawyers at Breakstone, White & Gluck have over 100 years combined experience handling injury cases in Massachusetts. We have handled cases involving driver negligence due to cell phone use and distracted driving. We handle cases throughout Massachusetts, including in Boston, Cambridge, Lowell, Worcester, Framingham, Brockton and Plymouth.

For a free legal consultation, contact us at 800-379-1244 or 617-723-7676 or use our contact form.

Filmmaker Explores Painful Consequences of Texting While Driving

We want to share a story we heard on NPR this morning. Texting while driving remains one of the leading safety hazards on our roads today, despite years of public service announcements, educational campaigns and media stories of tragedy.

German filmmaker Werner Herzog has now released a new and less traditional public service announcement. In an in-depth 35-minute film, he speaks to victims, families, law enforcement and drivers who made the mistake. In one case, he shows the daughter of a victim reunited with the driver who killed her father. In another case, a woman who was seriously injured by a texting driver faced more than a million dollars in medical bills.

The film is called, “From One Second to the Next,” and can be viewed below. It is part of the AT&T “It Can Wait” campaign.

In the NPR interview, Herzog said: “The message is very, very simple. Don’t text and drive.”


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Distracted Driving Study: Voice Recognition Software Not Safer

driving.jpgTalking, e-mailing and texting in the car are not any safer with voice recognition software, a new study finds.

Infotainment systems – those digital screens in a vehicle’s dashboard – are becoming more standard in cars. They have voice recognition software which allows drivers to talk on the phone hands-free or send e-mails and text messages by voice. You can ask your GPS for directions, go online and even log into social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, all while driving, though these practices are unsafe.

While the federal government seeks industry support to limit use of these features while cars are in operation, the speech-to-text technology is legal in all 50 states. It provides an alternative in the 11 states and District of Columbia which ban cell phone use for all drivers. Massachusetts is one of the 41 states and District of Columbia which ban texting while driving for all operators, though drivers over 18 can talk on cell phones.

Distracted Driving Study
The new study by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety shows that putting the phone down and talking is still a risk. The study reported that speech-to-text technology causes a higher level of cognitive distraction than other activities behind the wheel, such as listening to a book on tape, the radio or talking on a hand-held phone or hands-free phone. Researchers compared drivers undertaking the different activities with eye-scanning technology that measured where driver attention was focused and electrical activity in the brain.

The study was led by David Strayer, a neuroscientist at the University of Utah who researches driving behavior and car accidents. He was the same researcher who led the 2006 University of Utah study.

Distracted Driving Concerns
In 2013, 9 million systems will be shipped in cars worldwide, according to ABI Research, an industry research firm. The number is expected to rise as automakers push the technology.

This technology meets heavy government concern about distracted driving. In 2010, 3,092 people were killed in car crashes related to distracted driving, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

Recently, National Transportation Safety Board Chairman Deborah Hersman called for a ban on all phone conversations behind the wheel, even with hands-free devices. Last December, the federal government released voluntary guidelines for the auto industry, recommending that many infotainment system features be disabled while cars are in use. The recommendations seek to prevent drivers from manually enter messages, read messages, browse the Internet and make video conference calls while driving.
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Texting While Driving Study: Voice-to-Text is Not Safer

cell-phone.jpg

We all have one: a cell phone we keep close by throughout the day, to keep in touch with work and the people in our lives. Many of us now use smart phones so in addition to talking and texting, we have quick access to apps, cameras and other neat gadgets. The bottom line is we get more use from our mobile phones now than ever.

While the conveniences are nice, they are a negative when it comes to driving. Studies have long shown cell phone use of any type is a distraction which can result in drivers taking their eyes off the road and causing motor vehicle accidents. 

Most states have some restriction on use. The District of Columbia and 39 states, including Massachusetts, ban texting while driving. Ten states and the District of Columbia ban all phone use by drivers. Massachusetts bans all cell phone use for drivers under 18. 

Some say these efforts and related educational campaigns are falling short and the use of smart phones is actually increasing. The market has certainly grown dramatically. By last October, the count was over 1 billion smart phone users worldwide, according to one firm’s report. By 2015, another billion users are expected to get smart phones.

Many new users are using talk-to-text technology while they drive, but a new study finds this is not actually any safer. The study by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute was released during April’s National Distracted Driving Awareness Month. The study was the first to compare voice-to-text and manual texting.

The Study
The transportation institute studied 43 research participants driving a vehicle on a closed course. Drivers traveled the course without any cell phone use, then three more times performing texting exercises. On the first two laps, they used two different voice-to-text applications. On the third lap, they texted manually.

Researchers found driver response was significantly delayed when drivers used voice-to-text or sent text messages. In both cases, drivers took about twice as long to react as they did when they were not texting.

Manual texting required slightly less time than voice-to-text, but driver performance was roughly the same.

One theory for why is drivers who used voice-to-text had to look down at the phone after they spoke their message and check it before sending, taking their attention from the road.

Massachusetts Texting While Driving Law
The Massachusetts law which bans texting while driving is M.G.L. c. 90, Sec. 13B. It took effect Sept. 30, 2010.

Under the law, drivers in Massachusetts are banned from both texting and e-mailing while operating a car. They cannot read or browse the Internet. Voice-to-texting is not specifically addressed in the law.

Some police departments are seeking to enforce the law. In January, West Bridgewater police stopped 51 drivers over four hours on a Saturday afternoon. In March, another four-hour sting caught 43 drivers texting.

Texting while driving is a non-criminal offense which carries a $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second offense and $500 for the third.

Drivers who are texting and driving and cause injury or death can also be criminally charged under M.G.L. c. 90, Sec. 24(2)(a). Read about a recent case.

Texting While Driving Case Highlights Dangers, Liability

textingincar.jpgA Haverhill teenager was sentenced to jail time this week for causing a fatal accident by texting while driving, raising the issues of painful consequences, criminal punishments and civil liability families can face for what is becoming an all-too-common practice.

The case was the first of its kind in Massachusetts, where a ban on texting while driving took effect in 2010. As the 18-year-old driver was sentenced this week in Haverhill District Court, the public learned what criminal punishments violators can face. But the public should also be aware of what they did not see in the media: If a teen causes a car accident, they and their parents might also be sued civilly and may have to pay their victims significant financial damages.

In cases involving injury and death, a parent who negligently entrusts a car they own to a teen who they have cause to know is texting behind the wheel may be found liable for negligent entrustment. If so, then the parent might be sued and forced to pay damages to a victim.

Case of Texting While Driving
On February 20, 2011, Aaron Deveau, 18, was driving in Haverhill and crossed the center line, striking a car driven by a 56-year-old New Hampshire man. The man died of his injuries a few weeks later, while his passenger, a 59-year-old Haverhill woman, was severely injured and left with physical disabilities.

After the man’s death, Deveau was charged with motor vehicle homicide and texting and causing injury. The motor vehicle charge carried a maximum sentence of two and a half years in jail and the texting and causing injury was punishable by up to two years. A Haverhill District Court jury found him guilty of both charges and Judge Stephen Abana sentenced him to the maximum penalty. However, Deveau will serve a year concurrently on both charges and the balance of the charges is suspended for five years. His license will be suspended for 15 years on the motor vehicle homicide charge.

Prosecutors have been able to charge negligent drivers with texting and causing injury since September 30, 2010, when the Massachusetts law banning texting while driving took effect. The law banning use of electronic devices while driving is M.G.L. Chapter 90, Section 13B. If drivers cause injury or death, they can be criminally charged under M.G.L. Chapter 90, Section 24(2)(a).

The law applies to all electronic communications, including sending and reading texts, sending and reading emails, and any sort of internet browsing. For non-criminal charges (if there is no accident or injury), the fine is first $100, then $250, and then $500. Insurance surcharges do not apply to the civil penalties.
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Car Accidents in Massachusetts Would Be Reduced Under Cell Phone Ban

cell-phone.jpgA ban on using hand-held cell phones behind the wheel was approved by the Massachusetts Legislature’s Joint Transportation Committee this week.

On Thursday, the committee voted 8-0 to move forward the bill which advocates say will reduce car accidents, driving injuries and motor vehicle deaths. Some lawmakers did not vote on the ban, which was also discussed in 2010. That year, a new law took effect to reduce motor vehicle accidents by banning drivers under 18 from using cell phones to talk or text. All other drivers were banned from texting while driving.

Under the proposed cell phone ban, drivers would still be allowed to use hands-free cell phones with Bluetooth and other devices. Many safety advocates say hands-free cell phones are safer and this type of ban will help police better enforce the law. Right now, police say it is difficult to differentiate between drivers dialing a phone number and sending a text message.

As a result, police only wrote 1,100 tickets for texting while driving in the law’s first year, according to the Department of Transportation. This averages one for every 200 speeding tickets issued among Massachusetts’ 4.7 million drivers in the same period.

The hand-held cell phone ban will now be sent to the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate. The Ways and Means Committee may also consider the financial aspects of it.

If approved, Massachusetts will become the 10th state to ban any type of cell phone use while driving.

The national debate over cell phone use and car accidents has been growing stronger.
In December, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) called for a nationwide ban on driver use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood said he opposed including hands-free cell phones.

Click here to read more about the proposed hand-held cell phone ban in The Boston Globe.
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Massachusetts Considers Ban on Cell Phone Use While Driving

textingincar.jpgMassachusetts lawmakers will consider tougher laws this week to reduce car accidents associated with cell phone use.

The Legislature’s Joint Commission on Transportation will hold a hearing Tuesday to discuss several bills. One proposed measure would only allow drivers to use hands-free cell phones. Another would ban drivers from using any type of cell phone within school zones.

Just nine states and the District of Columbia prohibit all cell phone use while driving. Massachusetts joins 34 other states and the District of Columbia in banning texting while driving for all drivers.

In December, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommended a nationwide ban on driver use of portable electronic devices (PEDs) while operating a motor vehicle. The recommendation would ban use of all non-emergency portable electronic devices and the board wants to follow the NHTSA’s model of high-visibility enforcement and focused safety communication campaigns. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood is opposed to including hands-free cell phones in the ban.

Texting while driving, cell phone use and other distracted driving behavior causes a large number of car accidents across the country each year. In 2009, 16 percent of fatal motor vehicle accidents involved texting while driving and other distracted behavior. Twenty percent of car accidents resulting in injury involved distracted driving.

Massachusetts’ ban on texting while driving took effect Sept. 30, 2010. But Massachusetts, like other states, has found its ban hard to enforce. The law bans texting while driving in a moving car, as well as when behind the wheel at intersections. But critics say it is often difficult to tell whether a driver is texting or dialing a number.

Another challenge is Americans are sending more text messages than in the past. In June 2011, more than 196 billion text messages were sent in this country, a 50 percent increase from June 2009, according to CTIA, the international association for the wireless telecommunications industry.

There is research which shows any type of cell phone use engages a driver enough to create a dangerous distraction. A Carnegie Mellon University study found using a cell phone behind the wheel reduces the amount of brain activity associated with driving by 37 percent. And a study from the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VTTI) found that headset cell phone use is not substantially safer than hand-held use.

But when drivers text behind the wheel, they are 23 times more likely to get into a car crash than normal, the VTTI study found. Sending or receiving a text takes a driver’s eyes off from the road for an average of 4.6 seconds, which is the full-length of a football field for a car traveling at 55 mph.

Read more about Massachusetts’ proposed bans on cell phone use. Read more about the NTSB’s recommendation to ban driver use of ban portable electronic devices.
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