I have written about this issue several times in the past and we knew a law was coming. While the time is now as Illinois will become the 17th state on Thursday to ban texting while driving, a safety worry that has caught the attention of the federal government.
Gov. Pat Quinn will sign an amendment to the Illinois Vehicle Code that prohibits writing, sending or receiving text messages while driving, said the governor’s spokeswoman, Marlena Jentz. The bill does make texting exceptions for drivers who pull over to text or shift their car into park or neutral to message while stopped in traffic.
Studies have shown that those who text while driving have an exponentially greater risk of an car accident or near car accident.
A Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that truck drivers who texted while driving were 23 times more likely to be in a car crash or nearly get into car wrecks than undistracted drivers.
Compared with dialing, talking, listening or reaching for an electronic device, texting posed the greatest car accident risk, the study found — most likely due to the almost five seconds researchers found the drivers’ eyes were off the roadway while texting, said Rich Hanowski, the director of the Center for Truck and Bus Safety at the transportation institute.
The focus on texting while driving comes after a some high-profile accidents.
In September, a California commuter train engineer missed a stop signal while trading text messages with a friend, leading to a collision with a freight train that killed 25 people, according to federal investigators.
A mass-transit accident in Boston, Massachusetts, injured 62 people in May. The operator of a Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority trolley was later charged with gross negligence after he admitted he had been texting seconds before the collision with another trolley, according to the Suffolk County district attorney and a National Transportation Safety Board official.
To read the entire story from CNN.com, click here.
This is a big step made by Illinois lawmakers to make our roads safer. Based on all the studies we have read about and that I written about in previous posts, this is not surprising at all. It will be interesting to look at car accident statistics in the next few years.
If you or someone you know was involved in an Illinois car accident or an Illinois truck accident, then call attorney Aaron Bryant for a free consultation at 312-588-3384.