Hot on the heels of last month's GHSA report on states' myriad efforts to prevent distracted driving, six states have undertaken legislative action to restrict or prohibit handheld cell phone use while driving.  On July 1, texting bans came into effect in four states: Georgia, Iowa, Michigan and Wyoming.

Georgia's ban on texting while driving for adult drivers, also known as Caleb's Law, intiially faced resistance from Gov. Sonny Perdue, who had concerns about the law's enforceability.  Specifically, Gov. Perdue took issue with a semantic loophole in the language of the law - the prohibition against reading any text-based communication.  Jim Galloway of Political Insider reports Purdue had concerns about the prohibition against 'read[ing] any text-based communication'.  Purdue gave the following example: "If I get my e-mails and I pick up a smart-phone and read my e-mails, I’m violating the law. But if I print out my e-mails and I have a sheet of paper driving [and look at it], then I haven’t violated the law."  Although Gov. Purdue did sign Caleb's Law and an accompanying ban on handheld phone use behind the wheel by minor drivers, the questions about enforceability still remain.  Law enforcement will issue warnings and no citations for the first month, meaning violators will escape a $150 fine.

Gov. Purdue raises a legitimate question about police officers' ability to discern whether a driver handling his or her phone is violating the state's laws.  But his example is flawed.  A driver who is leafing through a sheaf of papers while driving is likely in violation of the statute regarding reckless driving.  Activites that divert a driver's attention are all likely to contribute to a crash in varying degrees.

Meanwhile, Massachusetts and Delaware became the 29th and 30th states to prohibit texting while driving.  Massachussets' law comes into effect in October, and includes touch sanctions for underage drivers - in addition to losing their licenses, underage violators must also complete a mandatory course aimed at educating them about the dangers of distracted driving.  In addition to banning texting, Delaware went a step further, becoming the 8th state to ban the use of handheld mobile devices while driving.  Under the new law, drivers may not use handheld cell phones, PDAs, laptops, or electronic gaming systems while driving.