The law that banned texting in 2010, recent statistics show, is rarely enforced. Since the law was passed up until September 17, 2012, there have been a total of 1,281 convictions. 665 of these were from Gwinnett County alone, more than all the other counties combined. Fulton County had a total of 43 convictions while Cobb County had 64 convictions.
Officers are saying that the reason there are so few convictions is because the law is hard to enforce. An officer cannot pull anyone over just for having a cellular device in their hand, it must be confirmed that they are texting and not talking or anything else because the law bans texting only. They other reason is that a driver may put away their phone when pulled over, eliminating any evidence or they may state that they were doing something else on their phone. This lack of enforcement doesn't persist in just Georgia; other states that have a similar law, such as North Carolina and Kentucky, also have a high lack of enforcement of this law. Some states, such as New York, in order to get better enforcement of this law and protect people, have extended this law to ban people from simply holding a handheld device. In this manner, a police officer simply needs to see a phone, not ascertain whether the driver is texting or not. This means that even you are calling, speaker phone or not, or simply holding a phone, you can be pulled over. Another facet people suspect as being an obstacle to enforcing this law is the punishment. The worst that an officer can do in Georgia for texting is give a ticket for $150 and a mark on your driver's license. Many people can afford this and simply don't care whether they get pulled over or not.
Because enforcement of these laws is so rigorous in states like New York and virtually non-existent in Georgia, people are debating whether New York's example should be followed or if it is too limiting. In 2010, Georgia voted against passing a law like New York's but, with the failure of this law beaming at it, Georgia's government may reconsider. This issue affects all the states in America and they are all trying to figure out how to solve this issue. The reason behind this being a major issue is because out of all three types of driving distractions, texting involves all three and puts drivers at a 23 times higher risk. There are visual distractions- distractions that take your eyes off of the road, manual distractions- distractions that take your hands off of the wheel, and cognitive distractions- ones that take your mind off of driving. Texting is classified under all three and presents a major problem and puts drivers in a high risk of crashing. Texting is also a cause of a majority of car accidents in America, so its imperative that a solution is met. This issue affects a large area, not just Georgia and thus puts more people in danger, causing more accidents, and, consequently, more deaths or severe injuries.
Officers are saying that the reason there are so few convictions is because the law is hard to enforce. An officer cannot pull anyone over just for having a cellular device in their hand, it must be confirmed that they are texting and not talking or anything else because the law bans texting only. They other reason is that a driver may put away their phone when pulled over, eliminating any evidence or they may state that they were doing something else on their phone. This lack of enforcement doesn't persist in just Georgia; other states that have a similar law, such as North Carolina and Kentucky, also have a high lack of enforcement of this law. Some states, such as New York, in order to get better enforcement of this law and protect people, have extended this law to ban people from simply holding a handheld device. In this manner, a police officer simply needs to see a phone, not ascertain whether the driver is texting or not. This means that even you are calling, speaker phone or not, or simply holding a phone, you can be pulled over. Another facet people suspect as being an obstacle to enforcing this law is the punishment. The worst that an officer can do in Georgia for texting is give a ticket for $150 and a mark on your driver's license. Many people can afford this and simply don't care whether they get pulled over or not.
Because enforcement of these laws is so rigorous in states like New York and virtually non-existent in Georgia, people are debating whether New York's example should be followed or if it is too limiting. In 2010, Georgia voted against passing a law like New York's but, with the failure of this law beaming at it, Georgia's government may reconsider. This issue affects all the states in America and they are all trying to figure out how to solve this issue. The reason behind this being a major issue is because out of all three types of driving distractions, texting involves all three and puts drivers at a 23 times higher risk. There are visual distractions- distractions that take your eyes off of the road, manual distractions- distractions that take your hands off of the wheel, and cognitive distractions- ones that take your mind off of driving. Texting is classified under all three and presents a major problem and puts drivers in a high risk of crashing. Texting is also a cause of a majority of car accidents in America, so its imperative that a solution is met. This issue affects a large area, not just Georgia and thus puts more people in danger, causing more accidents, and, consequently, more deaths or severe injuries.
-Jalees N.
Sources:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/texting-while-driving-law-rarely-enforced/nSrTD/
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/texting-while-driving-law-rarely-enforced/nSrTD/
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