A STATE BY STATE ANALYSIS OF TEXTING WHILE DRIVING LAWS

By Gregory D. Conforti,Prepared with assistance by

Adam Sidoti

For specific information as to each state, please contact the authors:Adam Sidoti – sidotia@jbltd.com 312-372-0770Gregory D. Conforti – confortig@jbltd.com 312-372-0770

A Matter of Enforcement

Primary Enforcement This means that a police officer can stop you and cite

you for an observed violation of your local version of the hands free cell phone law. The police officer does not need to have some other primary reason to stop you, such as your tail light being out or speeding.

Secondary Enforcement A law will usually only be enforced when a primary

enforcement offense has also occurred. In areas where hands free cell phone laws are in the secondary enforcement category, police will usually enforce your hands free cell phone law with a citation only when there is another Primary enforcement reason to stop your vehicle and have a conversation with you.

Distracted Driving

States have identified the following categories of distracted driving:

All cell phone use (handheld and hands-free)

Handheld use only

Text messaging

Handheld Cell Phone Use

10 states, D.C., Guam and the Virgin Islands prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving. Except for Maryland and West Virginia (until July 2013), all laws are primary enforcement—an officer may cite a driver for using a handheld cell phone without any other traffic offense taking place.

All Cell Phone Use No state bans all cell phone use for all

drivers, but many prohibit use by certain subsets: 32 states and D.C. ban all cell phone use by

novice drivers. School bus drivers in 19 states and D.C. may

not use a cell phone when passengers are present.

Text Messaging

39 states, D.C., Guam and the Virgin Islands ban text messaging for all drivers.

All but 4 have primary enforcement. An additional 5 states prohibit text

messaging by novice drivers. 3 states restrict school bus drivers from

texting.

Distracted Driving

Some states such as Maine, N.H. and Utah treat cell phone use as part of a broader distracted driving issue.

In Utah, cell phone use is an offense only if a driver also commits another moving violation (other than speeding).

Crash Data Collection

Many states include a category for cell phone/electronic equipment distraction on police accident report forms.

Proposed federal legislation would require states to collect this data in accordance with Model Minimum Uniform Crash Criteria guidelines to qualify for certain federal funding.

Preemption Laws

Many localities have passed their own distracted driving bans.

However, some states – such as Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Oklahoma – prohibit localities from enacting such laws.

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Alabama (primary) Alaska (primary) Arkansas (primary) California (primary) Colorado (primary) Connecticut (primary)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Delaware (primary) District of Columbia (primary) Georgia (primary) Guam (primary) Idaho (primary) Indiana (primary)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Illinois (primary) Iowa (secondary) Kentucky (primary) Kansas (primary) Louisiana (primary) Maryland (primary) Maine (primary – all distracted driving)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Michigan (primary) Massachusetts (primary) Mississippi (primary) Minnesota (primary) Nebraska (primary) Nevada (primary) New Jersey (primary)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers New York (primary) New Hampshire (primary) North Carolina (primary) North Dakota (primary) Ohio (secondary) Oregon (primary) Pennsylvania (all)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Tennessee (primary) Rhode Island (primary) Vermont (primary) Utah (primary) Virginia (secondary) Virgin Islands (primary) Washington (primary) West Virginia (primary)

A State-by-State Analysis

Ban on Texting for All Drivers Wisconsin (primary) Wyoming (primary)

Bus Drivers, Beware

Most states have enacted specific legislation taking aim at distracted bus drivers ALL cell phone use banned for bus drivers in:

Arizona, California, Arkansas, Connecticut, Delaware, D.C., Georgia, Illinois, Louisiana, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Minnesota, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia

New Driver? Better not be Distracted…

Almost all states have taken aim at novice drivers, and young drivers. 37 states have specific laws to deal with new

drivers.

States with NO Distracted Driving Laws

Florida Hawaii Montana South Carolina South Dakota

Phone in One Hand…A Ticket in the Other

In April 2010, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) launched the "Phone in One Hand, Ticket in the Other" enforcement program in Hartford, Connecticut and Syracuse, New York.

During four enforcement waves over the course of a year, Syracuse police issued 9,587 citations for violations involving talking or texting on cell phones while driving. During the same period, police in Hartford, Connecticut, issued 9,658 tickets for illegal phone use.

Phone in One Hand…A Ticket in the Other

In Syracuse, both handheld cell phone use and texting behind the wheel declined by one-third.

In Hartford, where researchers initially identified drivers talking on their cell phones at twice the frequency, there was a 57 percent drop in handheld use and texting behind the wheel dropped by nearly three-quarters.

COMING SOON TO DELAWARE AND CALIFORNIA!

Discovery: Cell Phone Usage and Content

Ask for the number and service provider in Interrogatories

From this, you can issue a subpoena to the respective provider in order to learn about the numbers being dialed, the time at which they were dialed, and the length of the phone calls, but no major provider will provide you with the contact list (with names) or the content of text messages.

Once you obtain information showing that the content of messages may be relevant, move the Court for a protective order, permitting you to obtain the actual phone or SIM card, and provide same to an expert.

Data Acquisition and Analysis of Cellular Telephone

Kevin Ripa of Advanced Surveillance Group, Inc., can be reached at (888) 677-9700.

There are three phases: (1) Acquire, (2) Analyze and (3) Report

He connects the phone or data card to lab equipment which utilizes a specialized software to extract information, even some of which that may have been deleted!

Cell phone technology is constantly evolving, so what may not have been possible 6 months ago is likely easily done today.

Keys to Good Data Acquisition

The phone needs to be isolated from the network Immediately after an accident becomes known, file a

motion for a protective order to obtain the actual phone. A phone must be isolated from its network because it

can be erased remotely. It can be determined when the phone was wiped clean, however.

Have the phone sent directly to a company like Advanced Surveillance Group, Inc. Do NOT tamper with the phone.

Some information is encrypted while other information is not; some encrypted information can be decoded, even after it is deleted.

What type of information can you obtain from good data analysis?

The content of text messages The exact location of the phone when it was

used The exact location and date and time of where

an individual was when a photo was taken or video was made

The names associated with the phone numbers dialed

The GPS location of the cell phone at all times Remember, you never know what you may find,

as smart phones evolve with applications which store all types of information.