Florida State Legislators Attempt Texting and Driving Ban One More Time

November 25, 2011

Florida State Legislators Attempt Texting and Driving Ban One More Time

Despite being in the Southeast, some may regard the state of Florida as The Wild West of distracted driving. Many states have bans on texting and handheld phone use while behind the wheel, but Florida has no such laws on distracted driving. As a result Florida drivers are free to text and use their cellphones on the road. Some may even say that Florida drivers are also free to endanger themselves and others on the road.

As the danger of distracted driving becomes more recognized, Florida's lack of distracted driving laws regarding texting and handheld phone use may become more of an outlier.

Florida Legislators Fight for Distracted Driving Laws

The state of Florida is no stranger to car accidents caused by texting and driving; however, the state currently does not have any laws that ban or restrict texting or handheld phone use while behind the wheel. Florida state legislators have proposed multiple distracted driving bills over the last few years, but none of the bills gained sufficient support in the House and Senate to be signed into law by the governor.

A new bill that would ban texting and driving was recently filed in the Florida House and Senate. The proposed law would ban drivers from manually typing text messages and emails into wireless communication devices while driving.

The potential law would be enforced as a secondary offense, meaning a police officer would need to pull a driver over for a different reason, like the lack of seat belt use, before the driver could be cited for texting and driving. Under a primary texting and driving law, a driver may be pulled over just for texting and driving.

Drivers would still be able to park their vehicles and use their cellphones under the proposed measure. In addition, the potential law would also allow drivers to use their cellphones as navigation devices.

Whether the bill becomes law may depend on the state House. A similar distracted driving bill passed the state Senate earlier this year but failed to pass the House. Senate President Mike Haridopolos declined to comment whether the distracted driving bill would succeed in the Senate again.

Even if Florida puts a distracted driving law on the books, distracted driving accidents are still likely to occur. If you are involved in a car accident suspected of being caused by distracted driving, contact a Florida personal injury attorney to assess your legal rights.

Article provided by Boyette Cummins & Nailos, P.L.L.C.
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