Texting Ban Takes Backseat for Some Motorists: Study

Fifteen months ago, California's ban on texting while driving went into effect. New research from the Auto Club suggests that it's being ignored, despite the giant freeway notifications, fines and penalties, and a  sobering study that compared it to drunken driving.

An Auto Club safety researcher said "the results are disappointing"  and show that the initial decrease in texting behind the wheel, measured after  ban was first implemented, has nearly disappeared.

"The fact that we're seeing a statistically significant rise in texting  despite the state ban indicates that additional efforts are needed to help  deal with the problem," said Steven Bloch, the organization's senior  researcher. "It's just over a year after California's texting ban was implemented,  and texting is rising toward the level it was before the law."

Before the texting law went into effect in January 2009, three Auto Club  surveys conducted in 2008 consistently showed that about 1.4 percent of  motorists were texting, Bloch said. Surveys conducted in May and July of 2009  showed that texting had dropped about 70 percent, to about 0.5 percent.

But the latest month-long survey, which was just completed, showed that  about 1.1 percent of California motorists were actively texting while driving.

The results come after last year's Car and Driver study that looked at the dangers of texting and driving. The study determined how long it took a driver to brake when he was unimpaired, legally drunk, reading an e-mail and sending a text.

Wisely, the test was conducted on a deserted air strip.

When unimpaired, the driver needed .54 seconds to brake. Add 4 feet to the stopping distance for a driver under the influence of alcohol.

But when reading an e-mail, the driver needed an additional 36 feet. Add 70 feet when texting.

So Now What?

The Auto Club supports a proposed law that would increase the texting  fine to $100, plus penalty assessments. The current law calls for $20 for a  first offense and $50 for subsequent offenses.

Senate Bill 1475 would also would impose one point on a motorist's  driving record. In California, eight points can lead to a suspended license.

"Moving violations typically require the (Department of Motor Vehicles)  to impose a point, and there is little reason that this dangerous traffic  violation should be treated differently than others," Bloch said.

Courts and juries are recognizing the danger of texting and driving,  Bloch said.

In one case this month, Martin Kuehl, 42, of Costa Mesa, was sentenced  to four years in prison for killing a pedestrian while texting and driving,  Bloch said. The prosecutor used cell phone records and witness accounts to show  that Kuehl was texting behind the wheel during the half hour leading to the  fatal crash.

The Auto Club survey also examined the level of hand-held and hands-free  cell phone usage. These results show little change in use levels since the  last surveys were conducted in 2009, Bloch said.

Nevertheless, the percent of people clasping a handset to their heads  while driving is about 60 percent lower than the last  survey of such behavior  conducted before the state cell phone driving law was changed in June 2008.