In case you missed this story, a California woman was driving down the highway when she felt something slither past her legs. Looking down, she saw it was ringed snake, and although her initial reaction was to jump out the window, she navigated through the traffic on the busy highway and pulled over to the …
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A new nationwide report conducted by USA Today shows that although 39 states plus the District of Columbia currently have laws on the books making some form of distracted driving (such as talking or texting on a cell phone or an outright ban on the use of any handheld device) not many citations are being …
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A Wisconsin Assembly is planning to hold a hearing this week to consider mandatory jail sentences for those who are convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. It only applies to those who are convicted of multiple DUI offenses, however. Specifically, if ultimately approved, the new bill would impose a minimum three-year prison sentence …
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Texas understands that you might not have been the best driver in the past and are willing to demonstrate that you’ve changed, and will earn your driver’s license back. That’s why they created the web site Texas.gov and loaded it with lots of cool features, like the Texas.gov/License Eligibility. Through a partnership with Texas Department …
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Lawmakers in Connecticut are convinced that driving while distracted is a public safety issue which needs more emphasis. They are so committed to this belief that they are now strengthening the existing state law which bans all talking and texting on the phone while driving. The new bill, if passed, would make driving while distracted …
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Texas A&M University’s Transportation Research Institute released a new study which shows that even when a driver uses voice-activated technology to send a text message they are just as distracted as if they sent a text in a traditional way. What was perhaps most interesting about their study was the fact that all the drivers …
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Washington State legislators are taking a serious look at greatly increasing the punishments for those convicted of driving under the influence of alcohol. Among the issues currently being debated are forms of alcohol monitoring and longer jail sentences for those convicted of DUI. Some combination of jail time and 24-7 alcohol monitoring seems likely to …
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Colorado legislators failed to pass legislation aimed at setting a legal level for the amount of THC (the active ingredient in marijuana) for drivers. The idea was to make it clearly illegal to drive under the influence of marijuana by saying, “this is the legal limit.” Police have been asking legislators to set the ‘stoned …
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The new anti-texting ban in Virginia apparently has a rather large loophole. Although Virginia legislators have made texting while driving a primary offense, allowing police to pull over drivers they see with a phone in their hand, it allows drivers to use their phones for calls, to check voice mail or use their phone for …
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Along with regulating safe driving for everyone, state laws also address issues which might affect otherwise safe drivers. Certain medical conditions can affect a drivers ability to operate a vehicle. Some conditions affect a driver suddenly, and without warning, so differentiating between conditions is a tricky business for legislators and public safety advocates. Chief among …
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Indiana is among the majority when it comes using a probationary or graduated driver’s licensing system for teen drivers. These systems require teen drivers to move through the licensing process in stages, by limiting their ability to drive during certain times of day and requiring they hold each stage-license for a certain period of time …
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Maryland has had a distracted driving ban on the books for quite some time. It prevented drivers from using handheld devices to make calls while they were behind the wheel. Of course it was only a secondary offense, which meant that even if a police officer saw a driver doing it they were not permitted, …
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Despite a massive public safety effort aimed squarely at getting drivers, especially young teen drivers, to pay attention while they drive and put down their handheld devices, the number of teen drivers who are texting behind the wheel has doubled since 2010. Arstechnica reviewed data made available by the National highway Traffic safety Administration. The …
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The California Court of Appeals this week ruled that using your cell to check a map while driving violates the states distracted driving ban. The plaintiff in the case had tried to argue that he didn’t deserve the ticket he received for distracted driving because he wasn’t using his cell to talk or text, but …
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Washington D.C. has decided that some of their traffic fines were way out of whack, and taken the interesting route of actually lowering these fines. It is worth noting that very rarely, if ever, do lawmakers make a decision to lower a fine. They might remove a rule or change a law, but not actually …
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Vermont legislators are considering taking a serious stance against distracted driving, more than doubling fines for those drivers caught texting behind the wheel and banning the use of cell phone by drivers on the highway. The Vermont House Judiciary and Transportation committees are considering a few different bills, all of which address distracted driving in …
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Mississippi lawmakers are looking to beef up the state’s existing laws against driving under the influence of alcohol. The new bill is clearly meant as a deterrent as it increases the punishment for first time offenders and repeat offenders. Members of both houses of the Mississippi congress found common ground on the changes and the …
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A recent Dayton Daily News investigation into the incidence of Operating a Vehicle while Intoxicated shows that while the number of drunk driving arrests is down overall in the state, the number of repeat offenders seems not to have changed much. In fact, the Dayton Daily News reports that one in seven drunk drivers arrested …
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A group of Georgia teenagers tasked by the governor to evaluate existing state laws banning the use of texting devices by teen drivers, have returned a verdict: They think harsher penalties are the best way to convince teens not to text and drive. Nearly two dozen members of the Georgia Governor’s Commission on Teen Driving …
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New Mexico is one of just a handful of states which does not have a statewide distracted driving ban for handheld devices. In fact, the state only bans the use of handheld or hands-free cell phones for novice drivers and those driving state vehicles. Otherwise, drivers in New Mexico can talk, text, email or just …
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The new tech toy, not even released for mass consumption yet, Google Glass, is already being targeted by some lawmakers as a major driving distraction. West Virginia lawmakers have made no secret of the fact they plan to ban the use of Google Glass by drivers, and lawmakers in other states are making plans to …
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