The new law, which took effect in May, penalizes a texting driver who causes a fatality as harshly as a drunken driver who kills someone. In effect, a crash caused by such a multitasking motorist is no longer considered an “accident” like one caused by a driver who, say, runs into another car because he nodded off at the wheel. Instead, such a crash would now be considered inherently reckless.
“It’s a willful act,” said Lyle Hillyard, a Republican state senator and a big supporter of the new measure. “If you choose to drink and drive or if you choose to text and drive, you’re assuming the same risk.”
Also:
Studies show that talking on a cellphone while driving is as risky as driving with a .08 blood alcohol level — generally the standard for drunken driving — and that the risk of driving while texting is at least twice that dangerous. Research also shows that many people are aware that the behavior is risky, but they assume others are the problem.
There's a lot of uncertainty of how to prove a person was texting (there's no simple test like a Breathalyser for alcohol, and privacy issues come into play when you start subpoenaing cell phone records, and you may not be able to determine the difference between a call and a text, which at the moment is being treated differently in Utah.) The young man whose case prompted the law, who did take responsibility for his actions but was sentenced before the law went into effect, plead 'guilty to two counts of negligent homicide, but his record will be cleared if he fulfills the sentence imposed by the judge. It included 30 days in jail, 200 hours of community service, and a requirement that he read “Les Misérables” to learn, like the book’s character Jean Valjean, how to make a contribution to society.' The new law calls for a punishment for texting and driving of up to three months in jail and up to a $750 fine, a misdemeanor. But if texting causes an injury or death, the punishment can grow to a felony and up to a $10,000 fine and 15 years in prison.
It's a step in the right direction. Maybe it will make people think.
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