Text Messaging While Driving is Now Illegal in Minnesota
The aim of the new legislation is to make drivers to focus on the road, and not their cell. According to the Department of Public Safety, distracted drivers, including those making phone calls or texting, were involved in at least 15 percent of all fatal crashes from 2005 to 2007.
Here's a driver that almost became one of those statistics: in Cass County, 25-year-old driver was arrested on Sunday after driving at 80 mph in the wrong lane. He was arrested under suspicion of drinking and driving, but his excuse for driving in the wrong lane was that he was texting.
Elsewhere in the Midwest, Illinois lawmakers are attempting to bring in a $25 fine for texting while crossing the street, presumably to save people from being hit by cars while saying c u l8r.
The ban on texting while driving is the first cellphone/driving legislation to affect most Minnesotan drivers. Currently, talking on a cellphone while driving, while considered unsafe, isn't illegal in Minnesota, except for drivers under 18 who have a learner or provisional license.
Do you think that Minnesota should ban all cell phone use while driving? What about legislating texting while walking, or is that going too far?
Comments
Seems to me this is just more government control. Kids became dumber when they became able to sue their parents for a broken finger nail. What’s next? Ban kids? What about law enforcement who drive around with their nose in their laptops? Not to mention talking on the cell phone. Make laws for everyone or don’t make it at all. Stop this crap and worry about other things! Like protecting our country from the crazies that want to kill us.
Irritated with this liberal crap!
William Miller
I don’t know about other people but the only way this law affects me is that my chances of getting into an accident are exponentially greater. Before I would text w/o looking and then put the phone at eye-level so I could glance to see if it was right, while still looking ahead of me. Now, I keep the phone out of eye-sight in fear of getting pulled over and when I went to check something I have to look down, taking my eyes completely off the road.
I’m appalled at the comments-this is a very good law, both of my parents were killed in a car accident because someone chose to text message and lost control of her car and hit and killed both of them head on for her lack of responsibility.
Any non-handsfree cell phone usage whilst the vehicle is moving should be prohibited for ALL drivers. There should be no exceptions for public safety workers.
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