Texting and driving is illegal in 46 different states and three U.S. territories. Law enforcement officials from the East Coast to Farmington, Utah have a difficult time catching repeat offenders. If you do get into an auto accident due to texting and driving, however, not even the best lawyer can help you walk away without a fine.
Primary Enforcement Laws
Of the 46 states where texting and driving is illegal, all but five have primary enforcement laws for texting and driving. This means that police officers can legally pull drivers over and issue a citation for texting, even if the driver is committing no other traffic infractions.
However, it can be difficult for law enforcement officials to determine if someone is texting and driving or merely typing in a phone number. In areas such as Farmington where cell phone use while driving is legal for some demographics but texting is illegal for everyone, cops have a hard time differentiating between normal cell phone use and texting.
How Many Taps?
Punching in a phone number takes a maximum of 10 taps of the finger. Any more than 10 and you’re wandering into suspicious territory. For law enforcement officials from Farmington to the Northwest, excessive cell phone tapping could be grounds for arrest, so make sure to keep your lawyer on speed dial.
From the perspective of law enforcement, texting or surfing the Internet even while stopped at red light is grounds for arrest. After all, texting while your car is not in motion might seem ok, but what happens when the light turns green? Your innocent texting could easily turn into an auto accident situation.
Put the Phone Away
At the end of the day, the purpose of law enforcement officials is to serve and protect the public to the best of their ability, not to fight with you and your lawyer in traffic court. Texting and driving is dangerous, and has high potential to cause a multi-vehicle auto accident. For the safety of everyone, put the phone away — don’t text and drive.