Stop texting while driving. That’s what the Maryland state legislature voted for and Gov. Martin O’Malley signed into law earlier this year.
“They’ve got studies showing that texting while you’re driving may be more dangerous then driving while you are under the influence of alcohol,” said Ron Young, Maryland Democratic State Senator for District 3, including Frederick and Washington counties.
“People are there, texting away, or they’re zooming down the road or pulling up behind somebody at the stop light, and it’s just a matter of safety. If they really need to text, they can pull off the road and stop, but having your concentration and your thumbs on anything other than paying attention to driving is just pretty dangerous,” he said.
The law prohibiting all drivers from reading texts while driving, or answering any texts (except 9-1-1 texts), went into effect Oct. 1 and is now a primary offence. Meaning, if an officer sees you texting while driving, they can pull you over and ticket you. It’s a $500 fine.
While this reporter was on the phone with Young, he was in his car.
“I’m driving and talking with you through Bluetooth on the radio. Both of my hands are on the steering wheel,” he said.
But has the texting ban affected his habits?
“It’s been pretty easy on me because I rarely text,” Young said. “I think it’s something that most young people are very adept it at. A lot of older people, like me, might text a little, but I don’t think we’re out there, texting all the time.”
Though Young voted for the ban, not all of the state legislators were in favor.
“We had a few opponents of the issue who started bringing up all these crazy scenarios,” he said. “I think like, ‘Well, what if you are in a traffic jam and you need to call and say you’re going to be home an hour late and you can’t call?’ Well, if you are sitting in a traffic jam, parked, not moving — I guess it’s a technical violation — but if you text, first off, a cop’s not going to go breezing by you. And secondly, I don’t think anybody is going to come after you for texting while your car is sitting in traffic.”
Before October, the texting ban used to have a provision for drivers to allow them to text while sitting at a light, but not any longer.
“I can’t tell you how many times I’ve sat at a traffic light and it’s green and the car in front of me is just sitting because they are texting and they didn’t bother to look to see if it even changed,” Young said. “If they’re not even conscience while sitting at a traffic light, how much are they paying attention while they’re driving?”
But what if there’s an emergency?
“And then the guy said, ‘Well, what if there’s a snow storm and your car’s stuck?’ Well, I mean, come on. There’s a bit of judgment involved with these things,” Young said. “If you’re stranded in a snow storm — in the middle of the road — you’re not moving and neither is anybody else. If you call for help, I think that’s okay.”
What about other distractions, such as drinking coffee?
“You’re concentrating and thinking about something else when you are calling or texting,” he said. “Drinking a cup of coffee is a pretty mechanical thing. It doesn’t take your brain to say, ‘Oh, that looks good, I think I’ll have a drink now.’ You just do it,” said Young. “It’s a matter of where your concentration is. And if you are driving, your concentration should really be on your driving.”