Florida, whose recently passed ban on texting and driving was rather lax in the first place, will reportedly not have a campaign in place in order to raise awareness about the relatively lenient law. On October 1, it becomes illegal to text within the state. However, the law is a secondary offense, so a person can’t be pulled over for texting alone, and texting itself is still permissible at a red light. Word has now come out that the $1 million placed in the budget for a safety campaign focused on the new law has been vetoed by the Governor. One safety advocate who lost his daughter to a crash involving texting has called the state’s efforts to root out distraction meaningless, while one lawmaker behind the texting ban expressed similar disappointment. The National Safety Council’s senior director called Florida’s efforts worthless.
For more information, click here.