Texting and Driving

By Ben Glass, Esquire

Benjamin W. Glass and Associates

. https://www.benglasslaw.com/

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Texting and Driving

Virginia, like many states, has outlawed texting while driving. After all, texting while driving is extremely dangerous. It's the cause of countless unnecessary accidents. It's the cause of a mountain of unwelcome injuries and worse. So, as a society, we have a vested interest in discouraging or preventing this behavior.

Unfortunately, texting while driving is difficult to enforce. In Virginia, you're allowed to use your phone to talk or to use your GPS. You're only prohibited from texting. This was decided with the fair understanding that there are legitimate reasons to have a phone in use in the car.

Maryland is a lot less forgiving. If you're seen by a police officer using your phone in Maryland, it's a ticketable offense. That means, in Maryland, irrespective of the reason for using a handheld device, you can get ticketed. Some may wince and correctly assert that there are legitimate and safe ways to use a cellphone in a car like the ones mentioned above.

With that said, from an enforcement perspective, the reality is that if we want to ticket someone for texting, but we will allow other uses of a cellphone, it will be a far more difficult law to enforce. Thus, the laws that Virginia has to discourage texting while driving don't have the same teeth as the laws in Maryland.

It's unclear which law is “better”. What is clear is that laws shouldn't be the first place we look to prevent distracted driving accidents. As a state, we should make it a priority to educate our citizens on the true dangers of texting while driving. Statistics consistently illuminate its danger.

Without being overly sanctimonious or preachy, there are ways to teach our children, our friends, and our parents that we feel uncomfortable when they are texting while driving. A reasonable, well-mannered discussion about why texting while driving is unsafe can be far more effective than waiting for a ticket or an accident to happen. Though you may never know it, one of those conversations could save someone from a serious injury or far worse.