Alabama Lays Down The Law With New Texting Ban

Many states are struggling with finding ways to deter drivers from texting while driving. Many drivers, especially those that are under the age of 25 use their cell phones to text while they operate a motor vehicle.
 
The state of Alabama has taken action to try to deal with this issue. The governor has signed a bill that bans texting while driving. Many states have this type of law in place so the move is a progressive one. One main difference with this law is that the punishment for an offense is that the driver gets two points on their driver’s license.
 
The problem with most of the state laws that ban texting while driving is that offenders usually are subjected to a small fine which is like a slap on the wrist to them. It is very serious to rack up a lot of points on a driver’s license.
Every six months, a driver has to have their car insurance policy renewed. At the time of the renewal, the claims adjuster will examine the driving record of the individual. Every texting while driving offense equates to two points in the state so repeat offenders will face sky high car insurance premiums. This is a very serious punishment that will cause shock waves for drivers in the state.
West Virginia has a law where you will receive three points if you have committed a texting while driving offense three times. In comparison, Alabama’s law is much stricter and might be able to do a much better job at making drivers afraid to text while driving.
Texas has very relaxed texting while driving laws. The law that is currently in place only requires bus drivers and teens that are under the age of 18 to not text while driving. The governor who is named Rick Perry does not think that texting while driving is dangerous. He also reiterated that the government should not tell adults how to behave when they are behind the wheel of a car.
Statistics have shown that drivers who are distracted pose a hazard to the health and safety of everyone who is on the road. Alabama’s governor, Robert Bentley has stated that a text message is not urgent especially if it costs someone their life. This move by him shows that he wants to have a precedent in place so that drivers will finally understand that this type of behavior has consequences.