Missouri legislation to limit inattention of younger drivers | by ELIZABETH WILSON

Junior Sara Gassman has first hand evidence of the effects of texting and driving in the form of a broken nose.  Missouri legislature has enacted a new law to stop teens from experiencing such accidents.  

A law banning sending, reading or writing an electronic message for Missouri drivers ages 21 and under took effect Aug. 28.  The law, passed by the Missouri legislature, permits law enforcement officials to stop young drivers suspected of texting and driving.  A violation of this law includes $200 and two points against the driver’s license.

Lt. John Hotz of the Missouri Highway Patrol believes this restriction was enacted because texting causes inattention, which takes away from properly operating a vehicle.  He added that it is difficult for a driver to pay attention to changing traffic and speed limits if he or she is texting.

‘A lot of people think, ‘ËœIf I just look away for one second, it’s no big deal’,’ Hotz said.  ‘If you’re driving 60 mph, you move 88 ft. in one second.  There’s a lot of opportunity for error.’

On Sept. 25, Gassman went to get coffee before school started.  As she turned right at a stoplight, she received a text message and began to read it.  She noticed she was veering off the road and tried to turn the wheel, but when it would not turn the way she wanted it to, she turned it the other way.  In a panic, she accidentally pressed the gas and skidded across the road, hitting a tree.  

Gassman’s airbags went off, the impact breaking her nose, and her car was totaled. 

According to Gassman, this was the first time she had ever texted while driving and it will certainly be her last. 

According to Hotz, there are no statistics as to how many people have been pulled over for texting and driving since Aug. 28.

‘Our policy is that any time there is a new traffic law, we try to issue warnings and educate the public about the new law for the first couple of months,’ Hotz said. 

Ms. Laura Barton, a recently retired major of the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD), believes the new law has serious flaws.

‘Why does it only apply to drivers under 21?’ Barton asked.  ‘Why are other non-driving related activities not prohibited such as reading, applying make-up or dialing a number?’

According to Hotz, the new law only applies to drivers ages 16 through 21 because it takes young and inexperienced drivers five years to go from a beginning driver to an average one.  But, Hotz added, anyone can be given a ticket for weaving, a frequent side effect of texting while driving.

‘No matter how old a driver is, if they are weaving from one side of the road to the other, they can be given a ticket,’ Hotz said.  ‘That is driving in a reckless manner.’

Both Barton and Gassman also believe it will be difficult for police to tell who is texting from who is simply dialing.

‘If a driver denies texting, the next step would be to look at the phone,’ Barton said.  ‘But if the driver refuses, some legalities come into play as to obtaining the phone against the wishes of the owner.’

According to Hotz, the Highway Patrol will try to give drivers the benefit of the doubt when it comes to issues of texting versus dialing. 

‘But if their attention seems to be directed to their cell phone for a good amount of time and if they are repeatedly dialing on their cell phone, that is a pretty good indication they are doing more than just making a phone call,’ Hotz said. 

Gassman believes the new texting and driving law is a good idea.

‘I don’t really think people should text and drive at all,’ Gassman said.  ‘It causes accidents.  [People have texted and driven] and got[ten] killed.  I was really lucky.’

According to Barton, the texting law in Missouri is a state law and for now will be enforced only by Missouri State Troopers and County Deputies.  Kansas City will need to enact a city ordinance that mirrors the state law in order for the KCPD to enforce the law.  Barton also commented that the legislative temperament on a national level appears to be moving toward prohibiting cell phone use completely while driving rather than just prohibiting texting.