Sep25
By David Walker, LeaseTrader.com
SACRAMENTO: Gov. Schwarzenegger approved a law making it illegal to send or text messages while driving a motor vehicle in the state of California.
This bill imposes a $20 fine for a first offense and $50 for repeat offenders. It is for anyone using any electronic devices to read or send messages while driving a motor vehicle.
This bill by Sen. Joe Simitian a Democrat from Palo Alto, CA who also imposed the hands-free law back in July that requires all motorists to use hands-free devices and prohibits drivers under age 18 the use of any electronic device while driving.
We have no statistical information on crashes related to text messaging because California Highway Patrol does not categorizes texting as a cause yet .
We believe this bill was push through since the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board ) released the details of the Metrolink train crash in Los Angles county. Investigators indicated that the engineer of a passenger train was text-messaging shortly before Friday's head-on collision with a freight train that killed 25 people and injured more than 130 others.
This law will not go into effect until early 2009. Other States are already trying to pass similar laws.
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