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Editorial: Make texting while driving a primary offense

 
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD Belleair Police investigate the scene of Tuesday's (3/3/15) crash, which witnesses said involved six vehicles on the Belleair Causeway Bridge. Witnesses said the black car had collided with several other vehicles while traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed colliding with a Toyota Camry, at right, before rolling over. The driver was apprehended shortly after the crash by police, according to witnesses.
DOUGLAS R. CLIFFORD Belleair Police investigate the scene of Tuesday's (3/3/15) crash, which witnesses said involved six vehicles on the Belleair Causeway Bridge. Witnesses said the black car had collided with several other vehicles while traveling eastbound at a high rate of speed colliding with a Toyota Camry, at right, before rolling over. The driver was apprehended shortly after the crash by police, according to witnesses.
Published Dec. 7, 2017

It is dangerous and illegal to text while driving in Florida, and police should be able to pull over and ticket those lawbreakers without witnessing another violation first. House Speaker Richard Corcoran has lent his powerful voice to legislation that would make texting while driving a primary rather than secondary offense and add penalties with some teeth. This would properly recognize the risks of texting behind the wheel, which some studies suggest is as dangerous as drunken driving.

State law now is clearly ineffective. A texting driver can't be pulled over for that violation alone. Even if a ticket is issued, it levies a mere $20 fine and assesses no points on a driver's record. Corcoran notes the police issued fewer than 1,400 tickets for texting while driving last year, even though the Sunshine State had nearly 50,000 distracted driving crashes and 233 traffic deaths.

How weak is the law? The number of distracted driving car crashes has risen by 10,000 in the four years since it became illegal to text behind the wheel. Hillsborough County reported the second-highest number of such accidents in Florida last year with 4,861.

In addition to making texting while driving a primary offense, Corcoran, R-Land O'Lakes, wants the violation to carry a $30 fine and court costs, bringing the total penalty up to $108. Drivers who cause a crash would have six points added to their record. Another violation within five years would bring a $60 fine plus court costs, totaling $158. The bill, HB 33, sponsored by Reps. Jackie Toledo, R-Tampa, and Emily Slosberg, D-Boca Raton, includes an important provision that prevents police from searching a driver's smartphone without a court order. A similar Senate bill, SB 90, sponsored by Sen. Keith Perry, R-Gainesville, also would make texting a primary offense.

Another tougher-on-texting House bill, HB 121, is also sponsored by Slosberg, who was severely injured more than 20 years ago in an accident that killed her twin sister. It has a key clause worth retaining in the final legislation, which says: "Each law enforcement agency in this state shall adopt a policy to prohibit the practice of racial profiling in the enforcement."

African-American legislators fear that making texting while driving a primary offense will give police a reason to target black drivers. The American Civil Liberties Union has joined them in voicing concern. Indeed, the Black Lives Matter movement and video evidence over the past few years of innocent black men being targeted and harassed by police suggest that is not an unreasonable worry. In his opposition to a tougher texting law, Sen. Perry Thurston, D-Lauderhill, chairman of a 28-member legislative black caucus, cited an ACLU study showing that African-American drivers were almost twice as likely as whites to be stopped for violating Florida's seat belt law.

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But his very example gets to the problem. Obviously, no one is suggesting repealing the seat belt law, which has saved countless lives. The toughened texting ban also would prevent needless deaths. The better approach would be better training of the police, not dismissing the dangerous, illegal behavior of those who text behind the wheel.

The FL DNT TXT N DRV Coalition, a broad ensemble of police, sheriffs, parents, retirees, doctors, businesses and others, correctly argues that "it's time to strengthen the law." A generation ago, the push against drunken driving changed that dangerous behavior from a relatively common occurrence to one that became not just illegal but shameful. Laws that made seat belt use mandatory changed people's habits so that buckling up — and saving lives — became second nature. It is time for state legislators and Floridians to take the same approach to texting behind the wheel. It is far too reckless to be tolerated. Drivers should be embarrassed to do it, and they should face serious consequences when they are caught.