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Rector
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by EDWARD SZTUKOWSKI
News Editor
Those who text while driving will face new penalties if caught after a statewide ban on texting while driving went into effect Tuesday.
The bill, signed by Gov. Bev Perdue last June, prevents individuals from manually entering text messages into cell phones as a means of communicating with another person and also prevents people from reading messages, including e-mail.
Those caught could receive a fine of $100, in addition to court costs, according to the bill.
While texting may be banned, the law does not prevent people from looking through their contacts list to make calls.
Appalachian
State University Police Captain Eddie Rector said it will be difficult
to determine if drivers are looking through contacts or texting.
“It’s
going to be difficult unless they are involved in a car crash,” Rector
said. “It’s going to have to be obvious the individual was texting.”
Rector
said texting while driving can cause serious impairment, and if a
driver wishes to text or respond to a text, he or she should pull over.
Boone
Police Sergeant Scott Mackler said since the law is new, no one has
been cited for a violation, but law enforcement will be looking for
drivers who are texting.
“We do
have a lot of crashes which involve texting and talking on the cell
phone,” Mackler said. “The driver becomes distracted and does not
realize when cars are stopped or moving.”
State
Highway Patrol Captain Jorge Brewer said texting while driving prevents
people from concentrating on operating their vehicle.
“Phones
nowadays are no bigger than the palm of your hand, which means the
keyboards are smaller,” Brewer said. “This means you need to look down
to see what you’re keying and take your eyes off the road.”
Brewer was less sure how officers would make the distinction between those texting and those scrolling through contacts.
“We shall see,” he said. “We shall see.”
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