Texters beware: Police are now on the lookout

By Joseph Cyr
Staff Writer
    HOULTON — Starting today, drivers in Maine who feel the need to send text messages while driving will be subject to a $100 fine.
    A new state law goes into effect Wednesday that makes it illegal to send text messages while driving. The new law has the full support of Houlton Police Chief Butch Asselin.
    “I applaud the Legislature for enacting this law,” Asselin said. “Anything that curtails injuries or property damage as a result of texting while driving is a positive move forward.”
    Asselin said roughly 40 percent of the motor vehicle accidents in the town were due to driver inattention. Driver inattention can mean a variety of things, such as looking down to dial a phone number, changing the radio station or dealing with children in the back seat.
    “Officers are aware of the new law and will be watching (motorists) to enforce it,” Asselin said. “Initially, it may be difficult to enforce. What we will have to watch for is people looking down while they are driving or do they have the phone in front of them, punching the keypad, but not speaking.”
    The $100 fine, which increases incrementally with each following offense, is not going to deter all drivers from sending or reading text messages while driving, the chief said. The law does not apply simply to text messaging, he added. Using portable devices to check e-mail or search the Internet also fall under the conditions of imposing a fine.
    “The law is directed more to young people, but that is not to say older adults do not text as well,” Asselin said. “It is so tempting when you are driving and you hear your phone ding to tell you, you have a new e-mail or text message, or somebody has posted something on Facebook to look down and read it. When you do, you are putting not only your life, but somebody else’s in danger.”
    Asselin suggests that drivers should wait until they arrive at their destination or pull over to the side of the road before reaching for the phone.
    In 2009, nearly 5,500 people died and 500,000 were injured in accidents involving a distracted driver.  Overall, a distraction-related fatality represented 16 percent of all traffic fatalities for 2009. The U.S. Department of Transportation has an ongoing campaign entitled “Faces of Distracted Driving,” which features clips from people across the country who have lost loved ones as a result of texting or cell phone use while driving. For more information, visit www.distraction.gov/faces.
    In July, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced dramatic reductions in distracted driving cases in Syracuse, N.Y. and Hartford, Conn. after two pilot projects measured the effect of increased law enforcement, coupled with high-profile public education campaigns.
    “These findings show that strong laws, combined with highly-visible police enforcement, can significantly reduce dangerous texting and cell phone use behind the wheel,” LaHood stated in a press release. “Based on these results, it is crystal clear that those who try to minimize this dangerous behavior are making a serious error in judgment, especially when half a million people are injured and thousands more are killed in distracted driving accidents.”