People caught texting on their cell phones while driving will soon face stiffer penalties under a law passed by the Utah Legislature.
The law will prohibit a person from using a wireless device to text or access e-mail while driving in the state. It provides a penalty of a class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 90 days in jail and/or a $750 fine, effective immediately.
“This law is designed to help prevent tragic accidents,” said Rep. Stephen Clark, R-Provo, the bill’s sponsor. “In the past, texting while driving has killed a lot of people and caused a large amount of property damage. Anything we can do to prevent that is a good thing.”
But students are expressing different opinions about how effective the bill will be.
Alexis Young, a sophomore in communication, said she thought the bill could be a positive thing.
“I have texted while driving,” Young said. “I try not to, but it is hard. I think the bill is a good idea. Hopefully it will keep people safer. I am less likely to text now that it has passed.”
But Tyler Call, a junior in English, thinks the bill will have much less of an impact.
“I think it is a silly piece of legislation that is difficult to enforce,” Call said. “It is just one more thing for cops to deal with. It has no impact on me. It won’t discourage or encourage me to text and drive.”
The bill was passed after a debate involving three different versions of the bill. There were also other bills proposed during the legislative session involving using cell phones and driving, but each one was defeated.
Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Salt Lake City, proposed one of those bills. His bill would have made not only text messaging while driving illegal, but also would have punished people talking on a cell phone while driving.
“I think that texting is a bad deal,” Riesen said. “Studies have shown that driving while talking or texting on a cell phone is as bad as driving drunk. We have to address this problem.”
Riesen said he would present his bill again next year. He said the reason his bill did not pass was because it completely banned cell phones while driving. He said that he would make some minor changes next year, but that the general legislation would be the same.
Clark said that a complete ban on cell phones is probably the next step.
“I think this is the first step in that direction,” Clark said. “Hopefully we can help protect people’s lives. That is why we are proposing these steps.”