Do you know what your Virginia delegates have been up to so far this year? They’ve been busy proposing and voting on new driving laws, for one. There are currently over 170 house bills in the General Assembly Transportation committee right now, and six were recently shelved – including the notorious “driving while texting” bills.

Probably the most talked about of recently proposed legislation were HB 39 and HB 609, which aimed to make it illegal to read, send, or receive text messages while driving – also known by a new acronym, DWT (Driving While Texting). The bills were shelved during a vote in the General Assembly, however Virginia is not alone in contemplating the legality of DWT. According to a recent Washington Post article, four other states, including Maryland, are considering DWT laws.

These bills are a response to recent concerns about distracted driving, considered by many to be a significant source of accidents on our nation’s roads. Recent deaths of teenage drivers attributed to text messaging while driving has also fueled the debate. Cell-phone use and DWT are two major distracted driver offenses, as anyone who has ever been cut off by a Blackberry-wielding executive can attest. Last year Virginia lawmakers were successful in banning the use of cell-phones by drivers under the age of 18, however laws restricting cell-phone use by older drivers have not been successful before the General Assembly.

Currently, teen cell-phone use while driving is only a secondary offense, which means teen drivers would have to be pulled over for another violation in order to be cited for cell-phone use. Considering that a 2005 study sponsored by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) revealed that drivers who talk on cell-phones were four times as likely to be involved in an accident, some lawmakers are wondering if the law goes far enough. Because of this, there is currently a bill before the General Assembly that would remove the secondary offense designation from the under-18 law and make it a primary offense. Another bill currently before the General Assembly proposes removing a provision in the law that allows teens to use their cell-phone when their vehicle is lawfully parked or stopped.

As for the two Virginia DWT bills, they were referred to the Joint Commission on Technology and Science for further study, which means they will be postponed for another year. This delay isn’t surprising to many lawmakers, as it took 3 years to pass the bill banning cell-phone use by drivers under the age of 18.

Driving While Distracted

Text-messaging and cell-phone use aren’t the only activities that are distracting America’s drivers. A survey of 1,200 drivers in 2007 by Nationwide Mutual Insurance revealed some disturbing information about what drivers are doing when their eyes should be on the road. One look at the Top Ten list of driver distraction activities is enough to explain why distracted drivers are estimated to account for 25 to 30% of all accidents.

Adjust / change radio station or CD player: 82%
Drink beverage: 80%
Talk on cellphone: 73%
Eat snack: 68%
Eat meal: 41%
Daydream: 31%
Drive without shoes: 28%
Experience road rage: 23%
Listen to books on tape/CD: 21%
Smoke: 21%

Equally troubling are studies performed by the University of Utah over the years, which have drawn some troubling conclusions about drivers and their cell-phones:

Hands-free devices do not make cell-phones safe and are no less dangerous when used while driving, as it’s the conversation itself which is the major distraction
Reaction times for young adults talking on cell phones while driving are as slow as reaction times for senior citizens.
Talking on a cell-phone causes drivers to become as impaired as drivers with a 0.08 percent blood alcohol level (legally intoxicated in most states).

Distracted Driving – Bans Around the World

Some 50 countries around the world have bans or partial bans on cell-phone use while driving. These countries include the United Kingdom, France, Italy, Spain, Finland, Egypt, Japan, Denmark and more.

States with laws restricting cell-phone use include California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, and Washington D.C. Cities and states with anti-texting laws include Washington State, New Jersey, and Phoenix. More states and cities are expected to ban or restrict the use of cell-phones and text messaging while driving in the coming years.

Banning Pets and Cheeky Auto Adornments?

On a less serious note, some other proposed transportation bills that have attracted media attention during this year’s General Assembly session don’t deal with the electronic gadgets of distracted drivers. One proposed bill would prohibit motorists from driving with an animal in their lap, or in a way that interferes with the driver’s control or vision. Another bill that has attracted attention is a bill to prohibit motorists from displaying any depiction or object that depicts, represents, or resembles human genitalia, regardless of size or scale. It remains to be seen if the General Assembly will find the need to make it illegal to drive with a pet in your lap or inappropriate adornments on your vehicle. Either way, we hope lawmakers can focus on what really matters – keeping distracted drivers off our roads, and lowering Virginia’s record high 2007 traffic fatality rate.

The attorneys at Dulaney, Lauer, and Thomas, LLP care about your safety on Virginia’s roads and highways. If you or somebody you love is unfortunate enough to be involved in a serious auto accident, our law firm wants to help. Please contact Dulaney, Lauer, and Thomas to discuss your case for no cost and no obligation. We can help you recover from the shock of a serious auto accident injury and make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.

DULANEY, LAUER & THOMAS, LLP

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Warrenton, VA 20186
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Culpeper, VA 22701
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Dulaney, Lauer & Thomas, LLP
98 Alexandria Pike
Suite 11
Warrenton, VA 20186

Phone: 888-907-2631

DULANEY, LAUER &
THOMAS, LLP

Warrenton Office
98 Alexandria Pike
Suite 11
Warrenton, VA 20186
Toll Free: 888.907.2631
Local: 540.349.2631
Get Directions

Culpeper Office
209 N. West Street
Culpeper, VA 22701
Toll Free: 800.741.1012
Local: 540.825.6046
Get Directions