Currently in Florida texting while behind the wheel is a secondary offense, meaning that while it is a traffic infraction, drivers cannot be pulled over for it. Only when a driver is pulled over for a primary offense can they also be fined for texting, although this penalty is rarely given as an officer would need either permission or a warrant to search the guilty party’s phone.
This is all likely to change in the very near future, as a bill that would make texting while driving into a primary offense is currently well on its way to becoming a Florida law. The penalty for a first offense will not change from the current fine of $30, but will double on the second offense.
Despite the low penalty cost, the possibility of being pulled over for distracted driving is likely to save many lives if the bill becomes a law. The National Safety Council’s reports show that one fourth of car accidents in the United States each year are caused by cellphone use while driving, which amounts to about 1.6 million crashes. Once police officers are able to pull over drivers primarily for texting while on the road, these accidents are predicted to drop substantially.
Not only is texting specifically banned, but Florida law defines any form of manually typing into a handheld device as illegal while driving. The only exceptions to this are communicating with law enforcement in an emergency and using the device for navigation.
This piece of legislation will effectively reduce one of the largest contributors to distracted driving in Florida, mitigating the likelihood of future preventable tragedies, while also keeping protections in place for drivers using their phones in an emergency.
Jack Comiskey // Staff Writer
