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October 9, 2011

Police issue only 2 texting tickets in Vigo since July

Most agree awareness is up despite lack of citations issued in county

Lisa Trigg The Tribune-Star

TERRE HAUTE — In the three months since Indiana’s new ban on texting while driving went into effect, some Hoosier motorists have changed their habits to be less distracted by today’s technology. “I don’t like to text and drive. It’s a distraction for me,” said Jon Stephens, a sophomore at Indiana State University. “If I’m not focused on driving, it’s not safe.” Still others, at least 60 motorists statewide, have fought the law — but the law won. Those texting motorists received traffic citations for being caught with their thumbs on a tiny keypad while motoring down a public road. The latest change to Indiana’s distracted driving law went into effect July 1, making it unlawful to type, send or read a text message or email while driving. The class-C infraction is punishable by up to a $500 fine. In Vigo County, only two citations have been issued since the law went into effect, according to the Terre Haute City Clerk’s Office, which processes traffic tickets for all law enforcement agencies in the county. The first ticket was written by an Indiana State Police trooper at 1 a.m. July 9 at Third and Washington streets. The second ticket was issued at 8 a.m. Sept. 12 by a Terre Haute patrolman at Third and Walnut streets. The violation is a class-C infraction, which carries a $120 fee for a first-time offense. While the verdict is far from in on whether the law has helped reduce distracted driving, it is clear that public awareness of the problem has been heightened. “I used to text while driving, but I stopped after the law went into effect,” said Aanja Burnett, of Indianapolis, a sophomore elementary education major at Indiana State University. She said she has friends who still text while driving, but they justify their action by saying they only text while on the highways, not on local streets. “I say it’s still not safe,” Burnett said. In fact, Burnett feels any type of cell phone use while driving should be prohibited by law. “I don’t think you should talk on the phone either,” she said. ISU student Stephens said he thinks the new law has created more public awareness of the problem of distracted driving. But he said the components of the law make it hard to enforce because police cannot examine a motorist’s phone to prove that a text was being sent. “It’s good for awareness, but bad for enforcement,” said Stephens, a criminology major. In fact, Stephens said he and fellow students are preparing a framework debate for an English class about the law, and his main argument is in favor of it. “I have other people who agree with me,” Stephens said, “yet it’s hard to defend the law, because it’s hard to enforce.” But like Burnett, Stephens said he feels the law should not be limited to texting, but to all cell phone use while driving. That same argument — banning all cell phone use by drivers — came up at the Indiana Statehouse earlier this year. Sen. Travis Holdman authored Senate Bill 18, which called for limits on cell phone use by motorists. He said he heard from several people at the Statehouse that all cell phone use should be banned, but Holdman said he realized that there would not be enough support for a total ban to get the bill passed. Indiana’s law does allow hands-free or voice-operated technology to transmit a text message or an email. It also exempts amateur radio equipment operated by a licensed amateur radio operator, as well as communications systems installed in commercial vehicles weighing more than 10,000 pounds. Some folks want to rush back to the Senate floor to make some adjustments to the law during the next legislative session, Holdman told the Tribune-Star on Friday, but he favors getting more data on how effective the new law has been. “My goal is not for more tickets to be written,” Holdman said. “My goal is for people to stop texting while driving.” He pointed out that the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute, which tracks statistics of law enforcement, noted that after a statewide ban on cell phone use for all Hoosier drivers younger than age 18 went into effect on July 1, 2009, the state saw a 72-percent decrease in crashes by teen drivers using a cell phone. Before the law, Indiana experienced about 600 crashes related to cell phone use, whether texting or talking. In the two years since that ban, law enforcement has reported only 150 cell phone-related crashes among young drivers. “Preliminarily, it’s tough to tell,” Holdman said when asked if the new texting ban has reduced distracted driving. But there have been efforts made to inform drivers of the new law, such as digital signboards on major traffic routes. Holdman said he has been told by insurance industry representatives that about 60 percent of all motorists will abide by the new law as a matter of self-enforcement. Clark Cottom, chief deputy for the Vigo County Sheriff’s Department, said he has checked with deputies since the new law went into effect, but no one has written a ticket for a texter. “I think the law in itself is working,” Cottom said. “I think it [texting while driving] has slowed down considerably.” Statewide, the Indiana State Police has been keeping an eye on the number of tickets written to motoring texters. Through Sept. 20, ISP troopers had issued 25 tickets and 24 warnings to motorists ages 18 and older. Under the 2009 ban on teen texting while driving, ISP has issued five tickets and one warning. Of those, two tickets and one warning were issued in 2011, according to First Sgt. David Bursten of the ISP Public Information Office. One of the criticisms of the new law is that it will be tough for police officers to prove that a motorist was texting while driving. Allegedly, a smart motorist would either delete the text message, or get out of the texting mode, or turn the phone off. After all, it is not illegal to surf the Internet or to play a video game application while driving. As an infraction, though, it will be up to the motorist to prove to a judge that he or she wasn’t texting while driving. It is similar to an officer saying that a motorist ran a stop sign, or was weaving wildly on the road. Holdman, a former deputy prosecutor, pointed out that an infraction does not carry the same burden of proof as a misdemeanor or a felony. With the preponderance of the evidence is not as high as a misdemeanor, it is enough for an officer to say that he viewed the motorist texting while driving. Often just by observing a motorist’s actions, it’s not difficult to tell that a person was sending or receiving a text, he said. If the motorist wants to fight the ticket, phone records can be subpoenaed. “I hear from people that it’s too hard to enforce,” Holdman said of the law, “but every time I’m driving from Fort Wayne to Indianapolis, I still see people texting while driving.” But until more time has passed so that statistics can be gathered and analyzed, he said, he is fine with the heightened awareness about distracted driving. Lisa Trigg can be reached at (812) 231-4254 or lisa.trigg@tribstar.com.

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