Florida’s Driving and Texting Ban

FLORIDA’S DRIVING AND TEXTING BAN

On May 17, 2019 Florida Governor Ron DeSantis signed a bill prohibiting drivers from texting while their car is in motion.  If this sounds familiar, its because it comes on the heels of a prior anti-texting law which made texting and driving only a secondary offense.  As a result of the new bill, texting while driving is a primary offense and you can be pulled over for texting a driving.

The new bill goes into effect on July 1, 2019.  However, until January 1, 2020 only warnings will be issued.  On or after January 1, 2020, you can be pulled over and cited for texting while driving.

WHY IS TEXTING AND DRIVING DANGEROUS?

Texting while operating a vehicle is a growing problem and the cause of many car crashes.   According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration 3,166 people were killed in 2017 as a result of distracted drivers.  This is 9% of all fatal car crashes.

FHTSA information also revealed the age of the drivers involved in fatal crashes and the percentage of that age group which was distracted at the time of the crash.  Unsurprisingly, those between the ages of 20-29 were distracted 27% of the time in fatal car crashes.  The next highest group was 30-39 with 19% distracted.  These two age groups accounted for 46% of all distracted drivers involved in fatal car crashes.

People often understand that texting or being distracted while driving is wrong.  Despite this however, many people still engage in this behavior.  While the answer as to “Why?” remains unanswered, it may be because the driver believes that briefly checking their phone does not provide enough time to cause any danger.  This is wrong.  At 55 mph, if you take your eyes off of the road for 5 seconds you will have traveled the length of a football field.  This is more than enough time and distance to miss seeing a pedestrian in the roadway or another vehicle.

Texting while driving places the driver in legal jeopardy.  It allows the injured victim or survivors of a wrongful death victim to pursue punitive damages against the driver.  Punitive damages are different than compensatory damages.  In Florida, typically a person injured or killed in a car crash can only pursue compensatory damages – medical bills, lost wages, future damages, etc – damages that make the victim whole.  These are all damages for which a driver’s insurance company will issue payment for and thus protect the driver from having to pay out of pocket.  However, punitive damages are different than compensatory damages.  Punitive damages seek to punish the behavior and deter others from doing the same.  These damages are typically not covered by insurance companies and the victim may be personally responsible for payment these damages.

Texting and driving is dangerous and hurts everyone involved.  The victims of distracted drivers must deal with the injuries sustained, the families who have lost loved ones must deal with the pain that comes from never seeing someone again, and the driver may be responsible for paying damages out of their own pocket.

WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE PRIOR TEXTING BAN AND CURRENT TEXTING BAN

	PRIOR	CURRENT
Primary Offense	No	Yes
Can Text While Moving	No	No
Can Text While Stopped	Yes	Yes
First Offense	Non-Moving Violation	Non-Moving Violation
Second Offense	Noncriminal Traffic Infraction	Noncriminal Traffic Citation
Participate in Safety Program	No	Voluntary

Conclusion

Distracted driving can result in serious crashes.  The effects of those crashes can be devastating and may result in brain injury, broken bones, surgery, or even death.

No text is worth a life.