Drivers beware: New law effective Aug. 1 bans texting, e-mailing while driving

Sarah Cure By Sarah Cure
on May 08, 2012 at 7:35 PM

textingGov. Robert Bentley signed a bill into law Tuesday that bans text messaging, emailing and instant messaging while operating a motor vehicle (The Huntsville Times/Michael Mercier).

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama -- Approval of Alabama's new ban on texting while driving seems to be widespread in Madison County, based on a random survey of motorists Tuesday afternoon just after Gov. Robert Bentley signed the measure into law.

Effective Aug. 1, it will no longer be legal to send a text message, e-mail or instant message while driving. Motorists face a $25 fine for the first offense, $50 for a second offense and $75 for a third or subsequent offense. Also, each offense is a two-point violation on a motorist's driving record. But the law does not ban use of a cell phone behind the wheel.

Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville worked on the bill for six years before winning legislative approval. Now Alabama joins 37 other states in adopting a law that prohibits texting while operating a motor vehicle, according to The Governors Highway Safety Association.

The new law will be treated as a primary enforcement law that allows officers to issue a citation for the offense without another traffic offense occurring, unlike a similar ordinance in place in both Huntsville and Madison.

When the texting ban began in Huntsville and Madison in 2010, police treated the offense as a secondary violation to a traffic offense, such as speeding. According to Huntsville police spokesman Harry Hobbs, only three citations violating the city's "Eyes on the Road" ordinance have ever been issued.

"I think it's a good idea to implement this new law in the state," said Max Avula, a 26-year-old graduate student at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. He said a similar law has been in action and heavily enforced in his native country, India. "Considering the recent articles about a lot of teen deaths due to texting, they (teenagers) don't take it seriously."

Like most owners of smart phones, Avula said he is tempted to check his phone when he receives notifications of text messages or e-mails. But what prevents him from making a dangerous move is thinking about his family.

"I say to myself it's totally not worth it and it can wait," he said.

Molly Eaton, a mother of one with another on the way, said the new law will help curb careless and distracted driving on Madison County's highways and streets.

"Being new to Huntsville, it seems the city is integrated with a lot of drivers from all over the country, so there are many different driving styles on the road," said Eaton, who joked that she thought her driving habits were "down pat" since moving from San Antonio, Texas. "I thought it would be a more slower pace, but the driving is worse here and I came from the seventh largest city in the U.S."

Marzette McKinnis, 21, a student at Jacksonville State, said he's been the victim of two car accidents caused by drivers staring at their cell phones while texting.

"I hate to say it, but people my age are not responsible to be driving and texting," McKinnis said. "In one wreck, the driver admitted to the police that he was texting and wasn't paying attention when he was driving.

"He ended up hitting the back of my car," he said.

According to 19-year-old David Martin, a student at Calhoun Community College, a similar incident happened to his brother, who was texting on his cell phone while driving.

"I don't do it because I'd rather call someone," Martin said. "Texting distracts you from the road and then you're not driving properly.

"My brother was looking at his phone texting his girlfriend when he tapped the bumper of a car in front of his at a red light."

Cheryl Bearden said it's common to see drivers text or check their e-mails during her 30-minute commute from Grant to Huntsville.

"I have family friends who lost a daughter texting while driving," Bearden said. "And she just graduated from high school, too."

And then are some motorists like Vernon T. McCants who thinks more people should take advantage of voice-recognition software while driving to eliminate distraction. He also says drivers are more vulnerable in a neighborhood where they think it's OK to text since it's not busy with traffic.

"When people are in a comfortable environment, such as driving through their neighborhood, it's more of a danger," he said. "Coming as a parent, I see a whole lot of texting and I agree with the law.

"Anything that distracts or takes away attention from the road for just a couple of seconds is dangerous," he said.

Times Montgomery Bureau writer Kim Chandler contributed to this report.