Hold the Phone, Or Better Yet, Don't
Ban on text messaging while driving introduced to Wisconsin State Legislature

By Elaina Ilminen
Staff Writer
Posted 4-7-09

A bill to ban text messaging while driving is being reintroduced to the Wisconsin State Legislature.

The bill was brought forward by Sen Alan Lasee (Rep-De Pere), and is co-sponsored by five other republicans and six democrats. It was originally introduced in Nov. 2007. It was passed by the Senate in March, 2008, but it failed to reach the assembly.

DWT, driving while texting, could become punishable with fines no more than $400 for first time offenders and $800 for a repeat offense. If someone is injured as a result of DWT, the offender would face a $2,000 fine and a minimum of 30 days in jail. If an accident involving texting causes death, the guilty party could be fined $25,000 and also be sentenced to 10 years in prison. One exception to the rule, according to this draft of the bill, is that texting an emergency alert would not be illegal.

Minnesota is one of the nine states that have adopted texting laws. The law went into effect August 1, 2008. The penalty in Minnesota can cost up to $300. The violation is considered a primary offense, which means police can pull people over just for texting. The law does not apply to devices affixed inside the car, so navigating systems are excluded. A few suggestions from the Minnesota Department of Public Safety to avoid these tickets are to have one of your passengers be a “designated texter” or simply keeping your phone out of reach while you drive.

Many are guilty of this offense, even people who consider themselves responsible drivers. Todd Kalbrener, a UWS senior, said, “I don’t anymore, but I used to. I stopped because of safety hazards. I lived in California at the time and would text in that traffic.”

Though driving while text messaging is a distraction, it has become quite common, which is why states feel compelled to pass legislation against it.

Erin Mackey, a senior at UWS, also admitted to driving while texting, “Not often, but yes,” She shyly confessed. “I don’t text when there is a lot of traffic.”

When asked if she knew it was illegal to text in Minnesota, she replied, “Yes, I wasn’t aware of that then, though.” Despite being an occasional texter, Mackey agreed with the bill, at least somewhat.

“I suppose, yeah, but I don’t see how they will prove you’re texting, or how they would catch you,” said Mackey. “It seems kind of pointless. I think they should do commercials to raise awareness like they do for alcohol.”

The other states that have made driving while texting illegal are Alaska, California, Illinois, Louisiana, Nebraska, New Jersey, Oregon, and Washington State. Many states have versions of the bill in the works. To find out about new driving laws, www.drivinglaws.org has each states’ laws listed.