In an effort to make the roads safer, a law signed last fall by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger took effect Jan. 1, prohibiting drivers from texting while driving.
California Senate Bill 28, signed in September, makes reading, writing and sending texts from an electronic wireless device an infraction when driving a motored vehicle.
A previous law, which took effect in July 2008, only prohibited drivers under 18 years of age from texting and limited drivers to using only hands-free devices while driving.
According to California Highway Patrol Officer Miguel Luevano, the Highway Patrol had about two months to prepare and implement Senate Bill 28. To inform the public, they had Spanish and English press conferences and educational campaigns.
Closer to Jan. 1, they activated the digital freeway signs, which read, “Don’t text, its the law!” Several UCLA students saw these signs or know about the law.
One of the students who has seen these signs, Eric Phung, a first-year chemistry student, said he is happy California is trying to make the roads safer.
“I already don’t text when I drive so I don’t need to change my texting habits,” Phung said. “I want to make the roads safer and I hope more drivers will follow this law.”
Officer Luevano said he feels this law is a major step forward in making California roads safer.
“The way people drive when texting makes it more dangerous to be on the road. Drivers aren’t focusing on the task at hand and, subsequently, are almost driving like a drunk driver,” Luevano said.
There are currently no statistics on how many infractions the California Highway Patrol has written up for the texting law since it has only been in effect for eight days. Yet Luevano says this does not mean cell phones are not involved in accidents.
Between July and mid-December, the Highway Patrol has had a reported 45,000 citations for the handheld cell phone ban.
“So we know people are out there using their mobile devices but we hope this new law will deter them from continuing to do this,” Luevano said.
The new law is a primary offense in California, rather than a secondary offense. “So if an officer sees evidence the driver is texting, he can pull you over without any other reason,” Luevano said.
A first-time offender will receive a $20 fine with the fines for any additional violations increasing to $50. But according to Officer Luevano, this can be misleading.
“The fine of $20 is just the base fee. When you add the base fee to the administrative, penalty and court fees, the fines balloon up to about $100. For any additional violations, the fines are between $150 and $175.”
Luevano also said that in addition to the fines, being caught texting at the wheel will show up on your driving record.
Emily Rowe, a third-year applied mathematics student, said she thinks it is dangerous to be texting and driving. “I don’t know if there really is a price to get people to stop texting while driving. (The current fine) is a good starting place.”
Amit Pandey, a first-year biology student, said he does not think the fine is relatively that high. “Texting while driving is related to several accidents so the fee is fine.”