Column: New phone law about saving lives
Indiana’s new distracted driving law took effect July 1 this year. The new law makes it an infraction to hold and use a handheld mobile device while operating a moving vehicle. Indiana is the 22nd state to enact such a law.
Indiana Governor, Eric Holcomb, made the distracted driving law a top priority in the 2020 Indiana Legislative Session. The Governor cited the safety of Hoosiers on the road as his motivation for pushing for the law.
There are now more crashes related to texting and driving than drinking and driving, and people who text while driving are 23 times more likely to crash. Studies have found that your reaction time will be about 30 percent slower if you are trying to text and drive. A texting driver spends an average of 10 percent of driving time out of his or her lane. In looking down to send or read a text while driving, a driver takes his eyes off the road for an average of almost five seconds. While that does not seem like a long time, a person driving at 55 MPH travels the length of a football field in five seconds.
When asked, most people who admit that they text while driving claim to be able to do it safely. However, when tested on a simulator that uses everyday hazards (People crossing the road, animals crossing, sudden traffic stops), almost no one could do it without crashing if texting at the same time.
Indiana State police say distracted driving was to blame in at least 860 injury crashes and 48 fatalities in Indiana last year. The National Safety Council reports that cell phone use while driving leads to 1.6 million crashes each year.
The new law prohibits the handheld use of a cell phone while driving. Touching a phone to, for example, check the weather or look at a photo while driving is not allowed. The new measure specifies, however, that it will be legal for drivers to use phones if they’re mounted on a vehicle’s dashboard or in hands-free mode. Drivers will be able to hold and use a mobile device when their vehicle is stopped.
Infraction fines for violations of this new law can be up to $500 and repeat offenders may be subject to a loss of driving privileges. Violations will not, however, result in points toward a driver’s license suspension until after July 2021.
As your prosecutor, I hope we never have occasion to have to enforce these new provisions. I encourage everyone in our community to do their best to comply with the new rules and help keep our streets safe. As always, please feel free to contact our office with any questions you may have about complying with the new law.
Anthony Quinn, Dubois County Prosecutor
adquinn@duboiscountyin.org
812-482-4725
While not smart, this law like many that use prior restraint, is wrong. The Constitution as written and as thought of in the original meaning and intent, was to acknowledge the freedoms of every person by the very fact that they were/are born with certain rights.
To restrain someone from doing something that may, but also may not harm someone else is wrong. If someone is harmed, then you seek fair justice. It’s the same as a drunk person driving while intoxicated, if they don’t harm anyone driving home from the bar then leave them be. If they hurt or kill someone, make a severe example out of them for it. (By the way, I do not drink or use drugs including nicotine or caffeine).
The belief system of leaving people alone until they harm someone else’s rights through their actions is the true meaning of freedom. We as a country need to relearn that.
And if one believes this way then they also should believe that the seat-belt law is likewise wrong, and that people should maintain a similar freedom not to wear a mask, using the same argument.
I think the problems we’re seeing with rights is whose is more important yours or mine?
The purpose of the law is to protect.
You claim these laws are wrong because they are restraining and against the person’s constitutional rights.
I think they are right because they protect me as laws should and they protect my constitutional right to to live free from harm.
Whose right is more important?
This subject could be debated forever. It’s a matter of perspective, opinion, and doing the RIGHT thing!
Michael,
I agree, and my question to Anthony Quinn would be, does an officer have to prove, in the court of law, that I was specifically looking at my phone? If my head is looking down toward my floorboard despite not being on my phone, what happens if I’m issued a citation?
I don’t see how an officer can prove you were on your phone without an admission of guilt.
Just another “tax” on citizens. They know 99% of people won’t fight the citation in a court of law so people will simply plead guilty.
Texting and driving is bad. No one questions that. But we continually let Government dictate our lives masking as “keeping us safe”. Maybe we should get SUVs and such off the road since bigger, quicker vehicles can cause more harm? And putting speed governors on vehicles so you can only go so fast?
If you like this law, then don’t complain about the Mid-State Corridor. Our elected officials are pushing that road as an effort to “keep our roads safe” by keeping bigger vehicles off local roads.
Am thinking that most likely an officer would need to physically observe a driver holding/using their phone, or from an admission of guilt as with causing/resulting from a minor crash, to issue a citation. If a major/fatal crash, phone records could be (and frequently are) brought into play to verify if a driver was/wasn’t using a phone at the time.
Ima,
I would be curious too to what extent they would pull your phone records. Like you said, I’m sure it would happen with a major wreck, but for a minor crash? Would be interesting for sure. And what kind of time frame would the phone records have to show? If the cop says they observed a person on their phone at 8:32pm, phone records show 8:36pm, can you prove that they were on the phone in that exact moment?
In the court of law, you’re innocent until proven guilty, so I would think that they’d need more evidence than an officer’s word.
Would love to have these questions answered by the prosecutor for sure!