2012

Pennsylvania legislators appeared at Pittsburgh’s Children’s Hospital to promote legislation than would make talking on a cellphone while driving illegal. Fines of $50 and $100 for illegal cellphone use would be imposed for regular driving and school zone driving, respectively.  The potential ban would be similar to current penalties for texting while driving.  There would… read more

A ban on cellphones and other handheld devices while driving is something one Pennsylvania lawmaker wants to make happen. The ban would offer extra support to a law already in place that makes it illegal to text while driving. The two laws would go hand in hand, allowing police to stop and ticket someone who… read more

The traffic division of Sault Ste. Marie’s Police Service has started an enforcement program aimed at distracted drivers. The penalty incurred by a driver for using a cellphone while driving is $155. This law has been in place for two years. And all throughout August, officers will be stopping drivers at intersections for failing to… read more

Drivers in North Carolina are barred from texting while driving, but Chapel Hill attempted to one-up their state by instituting a cellphone ban on all drivers.  However, a Superior Court Judge has just ruled that the enacted ban is unconstitutional as it now stands.  The ruling is the result of local towing companies who complained… read more

In a recent crackdown on distracted drivers, police in Whitby, Ontario issued 84 citations over a four-day period last week. Police are hoping that the word gets out that distracted driving will not be tolerated.  They believe that many drivers are still ignoring Ontario’s ban on using handheld communication devices while driving. Over half of… read more

In Ottawa last week, plainclothes police officers posed as construction workers so that they could look out for drivers who were either talking or texting on handheld cell phones or not wearing their seat belts. These plainclothes officers radioed details of the offenders to uniformed officers, who then pulled over and ticketed drivers. 41 tickets… read more

The Lieutenant Governor of New Jersey has signed a law allowing authorities to charge drivers with vehicular homicide if that person’s vehicle kills someone while they were distracted by a cell phone. Drivers caught texting while driving can be charged with reckless driving, just like someone who is drunk. The law will be known as… read more

According to a new report, distracted driving is responsible for 10% of all accidents, racking up about 15 fatalities a day. Many places are adopting bans and restrictions; in Minnesota, minors are not allowed to talk on their phone while driving. But plenty of adults are prone to erratic driving while trying to use phones,… read more

As a result of the significant number of accidents and deaths due to distracted driving, Atlantic County police are cracking down on cell phone use in cars. Even if one is using a speakerphone, the Department of Transportation says those using cell phones are four times more likely to get into crashes that could cause… read more

The City Council of Bridgeport, West Virginia, is putting an early stop to texting and cell phone usage in cars. On Monday, the city council passed a law that bans all hand held device usage while driving. A statewide ban goes into effect a year from now, but the council chose not to wait. Hands-free… read more

As the threat of distracted driving has grown, local communities and states from across the country have turned to increasingly drastic measures in order to crack down on the cellphone usage scourge. States and municipalities that have never had a distracted driving ban of any kind have begun to institute them in force, and those… read more

With the threat of distracted driving more prevalent than ever before, it’s always nice to be able to report on a community that is doing what it can to prevent drivers from engaging in this dangerous practice. Beachwood, Ohio, is the latest city to promote an end to distracted driving by issuing a ban on… read more