By TOMMY MCDONALD
Texting while driving is now a secondary traffic offense in Florida.
Drivers are not allowed to text while driving, but they can when the car is stopped. Drivers are still allowed make and answer phone calls, use voice commands, change music and use their phones for navigation while driving. Since the law is a secondary offense, an officer can not pull a driver over for just texting while driving. Other offenses like careless driving can be used to justify pulling over texting drivers.
The law imposes a $30 fine for the first offense; a second offense is a $60 fine and three points on one’s driver’s license which can lead to increased insurance rates. Despite the consequences, not all students are not phased.
“I’m pretty good [at texting while driving]. I’ll just figure out a way around [the law],” senior Kyle Irwin said.
Although there are people who will continue the practice, School Resource Officer Scott Daniels thinks there are benefits to the law.
“It’s a distraction from driving and keeping your attention on driving, and to truly be a safe driver you need to be a defensive driver. [The law will be hard to enforce] because it is a secondary offense. I think it should be a primary offense because in order for a law to work it needs to be swift,” Daniels said.
A proposal for making the law a primary offense was proposed on Oct. 1, the day the first law came into effect. This amendment to the law comes in response to critics calling the law “soft” for it’s small fine and being a secondary offense.
Driving while texting increases crashes 23 times more than driving normal, while drunk driving increases crashes seven times. Although statistics exist, a misconception lingers among students.
“I think [with] drunk driving you are putting yourself in an even more dangerous situation. Combine them both, and that’s trouble,” Irwin said.