25th Feb 2010
Texting And Driving Laws For United States Citizens
It seems that all the teens these days are doing a dangerous act- and for some states, it isn’t illegal! Texting and driving is a new act to address as mobile phones become more popular. Studies show that with proper legislation, driver safety will surge.
Since there is no federal law that says texting while driving is a punishable crime, each state has to individually create and pass legislation to regulate it. Some states such as Washington have banned the act of texting completely. Other states have made it a rule that you have to be a certain age, often 21, before you can legally text and drive.
Oddly, some states have instead opted to only ban texting while driving for certain ages. Missouri is a good example, as it bans texting while driving for any teens under the age of 21. Those over this age are still able to do it, at least by current laws. The current fine for Missouri is only $200 for those who are caught or admitted to the act- perhaps too low, as some proponents of harsher legislation claim.
Some studies show that text messaging while driving have increased the chance of an auto accident by over 400%. This can be compared to driving while under the influence, which has also become taboo in the United States. Smart parents are starting to teach their kids that if they valued their own safety, and those of others, that they would refrain from texting while driving- even if it’s only to send two words or less.
Mobile phone companies are starting to make advances in newer technologies that make the act of texting a thing of the past. Voice recognition software is one of the solutions that isn’t quite perfected. While voice recognition can get a high accuracy rate, it is never perfect. Different dialects can also be hard to track. In addition, background noise could interfere with how the software picks up different words of speech.
Taking while driving is another concern, although not as important as texting while driving. Talking while driving is a good solution if you absolutely need to talk to someone, but some states have even put legislation in to stop this. The only real solution is to have a passenger contact the person, to wait until you are done driving, or to pull over on the side of the road. That way there will be no chance of you endangering others with your talking habits.
Final Thoughts
In the end, United States citizens should just practice common sense when talking and texting. Driving while doing anything other than paying attention to the road is going to be dangerous. Limit dangerous acts so that you won’t have a wrecked car and a disaster to deal with.
Learn more about Missouri automobile and truck accidents and disabling injuries and Text messaging while driving and the accident risk.
It seems that all the teens these days are doing a dangerous act- and for some states, it isn’t illegal! Texting and driving is a new act to address as mobile phones become more popular. Studies show that with proper legislation, driver safety will surge.
Since there is no federal law that says texting while driving is a punishable crime, each state has to individually create and pass legislation to regulate it. Some states such as Washington have banned the act of texting completely. Other states have made it a rule that you have to be a certain age, often 21, before you can legally text and drive.
Oddly, some states have instead opted to only ban texting while driving for certain ages. Missouri is a good example, as it bans texting while driving for any teens under the age of 21. Those over this age are still able to do it, at least by current laws. The current fine for Missouri is only $200 for those who are caught or admitted to the act- perhaps too low, as some proponents of harsher legislation claim.
Some studies show that text messaging while driving have increased the chance of an auto accident by over 400%. This can be compared to driving while under the influence, which has also become taboo in the United States. Smart parents are starting to teach their kids that if they valued their own safety, and those of others, that they would refrain from texting while driving- even if it’s only to send two words or less.
Mobile phone companies are starting to make advances in newer technologies that make the act of texting a thing of the past. Voice recognition software is one of the solutions that isn’t quite perfected. While voice recognition can get a high accuracy rate, it is never perfect. Different dialects can also be hard to track. In addition, background noise could interfere with how the software picks up different words of speech.
Taking while driving is another concern, although not as important as texting while driving. Talking while driving is a good solution if you absolutely need to talk to someone, but some states have even put legislation in to stop this. The only real solution is to have a passenger contact the person, to wait until you are done driving, or to pull over on the side of the road. That way there will be no chance of you endangering others with your talking habits.
Final Thoughts
In the end, United States citizens should just practice common sense when talking and texting. Driving while doing anything other than paying attention to the road is going to be dangerous. Limit dangerous acts so that you won’t have a wrecked car and a disaster to deal with.
Learn more about Missouri automobile and truck accidents and disabling injuries and Text messaging while driving and the accident risk.
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