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Our View-State texting-while-driving ban sends weak message

If you’re reading this article while driving to campus, please don’t. It’s almost as dangerous as text messaging while driving, which is now illegal. The new California ban that prohibits texting on cellphones, laptops and BlackBerrys from behind the wheel became effective Jan. 1.

Unfortunately, the new law’s claws are not sharp enough. It still allows for several loopholes that we’ll point out further down the page. The fines are too low to scare the most addicted electronic finger gabbers. Many drivers still ignore the law.

Building on the state ban on driving while using a handheld celly enacted in June, the new anti-texting law has identical penalties. Getting nabbed will cost the perpetrator $20 for the first ticket and $50 for each subsequent offense. Of course there are other penalties and court costs attached — depending on the city one gets the ticket — but many drivers continue the ignorant practice.

The California Highway Patrol and other law enforcement agencies have publicly declared a zero-tolerance policy — including the Cal State Long Beach University Police — on handheld cell usage and text messaging.

Shy of forcing drivers into 12-Step programs for chat junkies, the new laws seem weak in both punishment and enforcement. This could lead to federal intervention.

The National Safety Council is pushing for a ban on all cellphone use while driving, according to The New York Times. Citing several past university studies, the NSC has started pressuring governors and legislators throughout the country to create a federal ban. If successful, this would include banning hands-free devices as well.

One study the NSC is relying on is a 2003 report from the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis. The study reported that cellphone usage “contributed to 6 percent of all crashes, or 636,000 crashes total, with 330,000 injuries, 2,600 deaths and a financial toll of $43 billion,” The New York Times reported.

A 2005 study by the University of Utah and a subsequent report by the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration declared that hands-free usage doesn’t increase safety.

Without strong enforcement and hefty penalties, even federal restrictions won’t curb technological highway habits.

For instance, the new California law only impacts drivers that “write, send, or read a text-based communication,” according to a Los Angeles Times “Technology” blog. This means you can’t surf the Internet, read your e-mail or instant message. It doesn’t, however, stop you from entering directions into a global positioning system or a digital map.

Another caveat to the law is that it only bars text-messaging another “person.” Through that technicality, you can still text a company or a website. While this might make circumnavigating the law attractive for Fantasy Football players, it hardly makes the rest of us feel safer.

Texting at a red light or sitting in gridlock is illegal, but as long as you are legally parked — even with the motor running — text away. You can also type in a phone number to your handheld, but as soon as you hit send you must treat your device like a hot potato and go hands-free.

Another temptation might be to compose your message before you get behind the wheel to send later. This is legal, but once the car is moving, don’t hit the send button. That is considered composing-while-driving and can attract red lights and sirens.

The new laws are not intended as a mere inconvenience or to build local revenues; they are public safety measures. When a driver thumbs his or her nose at the law by thumbing their BFF, they put the rest of us in danger.

A lot of drivers seem to prefer risking a ticket to call waiting, voice mail or parking to take care of their texting addiction. These same drivers seem to be looking for a quick ride to the cemetery in a hearse.

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