Needs LEO Interpretation on Texting Law

[wcweir3]

I don't know anything about bike exhaust but are those louder than stock?

Yes

 

[WildBillKelso]

IANAL and the following is in no way legal advice but is merely to add to the conversation.

I believe, it is the state's burden to prove the incident and evidence thereof, meets all the elements of the crime. As per the statute, the state must prove one of the elements that the accused was writing, reading or sending a text based communication. The accused only needs to present evidence that supports reasonable suspicion that he/she was not committing one many or all of the elements of the crime.

There are a whole bunch of phone applications available that are not text based. The officer can be questioned in court what evidence he/she has that proves the accused was doing these things with text based communications as opposed to using other applications that are not text based. If prudent for the defense, the accused can provide documentation that generates reasonable suspicion or exonerates. All must play fair during discovery but the accused cannot be forced to incriminate him/herself. At the end of the day, I can see the prosecution backing away from making bad precedent quickly when not given a case in which the evidence supports all the elements of the crime.

Alternately, Faraday cage bags that block a phone from being bricked or wiped remotely are already being sold to law enforcement. I can see phones being seized as evidence related to the texting and driving charge in question as well as any questionable collisions, particularly those with major injury or death. The phone can be sent to computer forensics later to extract information. For the following reasons, I personally would not mind seeing this happen to get good prosecutions. With today's reliance on them, I doubt many would be okay with their phones being held up in evidence.

Most agree that texting and driving is a big, dangerous problem. Every time I pay my insurance, I am reminded that we will all feel this problem on our insurance rates if not having the misfortune of suffering directly from it. It reminds me of how I was blown away by the super high uninsured driver rates when I moved to Louisiana.

The US Dept. of Transportation is monitoring it closely. Relying on an independent peer reviewed study, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) came out in 2014 with the strong claim that distracted driving from texting is just as bad if not worse than drunk driving. They also said in an increasing number of vehicle collisions, distracted driving played a part or was the direct cause. The DOT made a special website on distracted driving here.
http://www.distraction.gov/
I hope one way or another, our culture abandons this dangerous practice and the scofflaws get the hammer.

 

[charlie12]

Yes

Ok so that would not be legal if they are louder than stock.

 

[Emperor]

Many agencies are now using delivery trucks in traffic so they can see into other cars. If they see one texting, they radio a marked unit to make the stop. One NW LA dept is using just the semi truck being driven in downtown traffic. It is bringing in a lot of money for the city. My daughter donated some to the coffers.

Sadly I held a lady in my arms waiting for the medics but she expired before they got there. She was texting and looking down at the phone using both hands. She failed to notice she was crossing the center line and hit another auto head on.

Look on the back pages of the motor vehicle crash reports. The number one distraction is shown as cell phones.

Many lives and injuries would be saved if everyone went to hands free.

The only thing that matters! Screw her! She played high stakes roulette and lost; but if she ran off the highway and crashed into a tree (and a tree that no one privately owned or had in their yard), and killed herself; I don't care! People die all the time. Let her family deal with her idiocy and death.

She ran into an INNOCENT victim of her selfishness, recklessness, and idiocy! This is the crux of the problem.

All of these fatal texting episodes start out as quick harmless taps at a stop light!

 

[Whitebread]

The only thing that matters! Screw her! She played high stakes roulette and lost; but if she ran off the highway and crashed into a tree (and a tree that no one privately owned or had in their yard), and killed herself; I don't care! People die all the time. Let her family deal with her idiocy and death.

She ran into an INNOCENT victim of her selfishness, recklessness, and idiocy! This is the crux of the problem.

All of these fatal texting episodes start out as quick harmless taps at a stop light!

I have to say its sad to me that people are winning the grand prize at the darwin awards, but it changes nothing. As long as I can remember grouchy old men like myself have be griping about idiot drivers doing something. In my years of commuting an hour plus to work I have witnessed everything from women putting on eye makeup to men reading the morning paper while driving in heavy traffic at 70+ miles an hour. As well as the texters. Personally I think as a free society (well not really anymore but go with it) we should allow people to make the decision for themselves. If they are really good multi-taskers and never cause a single issue good for them, but when they do cause an accident or a cop notices that they cant maintain their lane, nail them. If thats because they are making themselves a sandwich, texting, picking their nose, or just sleepy, to me it doesnt matter.

 

[Emperor]

I have to say its sad to me that people are winning the grand prize at the darwin awards, but it changes nothing. As long as I can remember grouchy old men like myself have be griping about idiot drivers doing something. In my years of commuting an hour plus to work I have witnessed everything from women putting on eye makeup to men reading the morning paper while driving in heavy traffic at 70+ miles an hour. As well as the texters. Personally I think as a free society (well not really anymore but go with it) we should allow people to make the decision for themselves. If they are really good multi-taskers and never cause a single issue good for them, but when they do cause an accident or a cop notices that they cant maintain their lane, nail them. If thats because they are making themselves a sandwich, texting, picking their nose, or just sleepy, to me it doesnt matter.

Not if they are killing innocent people!

 

[JadeRaven]

Not if they are killing innocent people!

I think you are missing his point.

If people can drive safely while also doing X, Y or Z, that's their prerogative. Those people aren't killing anybody, endangering anybody, etc. Not even endangering themselves.

There are already laws for unsafe driving, failure to stop, failure to yield, reckless driving, etc.

The unsafe drivers texting and whatnot are not made unsafe by texting, but are unsafe drivers because they don't give a ****, are too dumb to multitask, are generally a crappy driver anyway, or some combination thereof. The reason for their poor driving should not matter.

 

[notasheeple]

Semi relevant question that I didn't see an answer for in the law:

What about using a cell phone as the music device for your vehicle? I don't listen to the radio, but I'll listen to music stored on my phone or Pandora and plug the phone into the auxiliary jack.

Thanks.

 

[mike84z28]

Agreed Emp !!

 

[Emperor]

I think you are missing his point.

If people can drive safely while also doing X, Y or Z, that's their prerogative. Those people aren't killing anybody, endangering anybody, etc. Not even endangering themselves.

There are already laws for unsafe driving, failure to stop, failure to yield, reckless driving, etc.

The unsafe drivers texting and whatnot are not made unsafe by texting, but are unsafe drivers because they don't give a ****, are too dumb to multitask, are generally a crappy driver anyway, or some combination thereof. The reason for their poor driving should not matter.

I do get the point! What I would want someone to explain to me is the inconceivable spike in injuries and fatalities linked directly to "texting" and driving? Dummies (unsafe drivers), have been driving since the Tin Lizzy rolled out of the factory.

If the numbers weren't so staggering I would throw the personal liberty card down too!

 

[Emperor]

Semi relevant question that I didn't see an answer for in the law:

What about using a cell phone as the music device for your vehicle? I don't listen to the radio, but I'll listen to music stored on my phone or Pandora and plug the phone into the auxiliary jack.

Thanks.

Sorry Buddy! Your answer lies in the ambiguity pile along with the others in this thread!

 

[JadeRaven]

I do get the point! What I would want someone to explain to me is the inconceivable spike in injuries and fatalities linked directly to "texting" and driving? Dummies (unsafe drivers), have been driving since the Tin Lizzy rolled out of the factory.

If the numbers weren't so staggering I would throw the personal liberty card down too!

Well, since text messaging has become mainstream, auto deaths have dropped dramatically, and fatalities per population have been dropping since cellphones became a thing in general. I think you're getting more worked up about this than the data would indicate.

Prior to text messaging, it was talking on a cellphone. Before that, it was using a cd player. Before that, it was the cassette deck and the radio. None of these things kill people. Assholes who compromise their driving to do any of these things do.

People dying behind the wheel is not a new thing. Auto travel is safer than it ever has been before. And more people talk, text, facebook, listen to music, use additional devices, watch movies, input GPS directions, track miles per gallon, all sorts of BS, than they ever have before.

 

[JadeRaven]

I do get the point! What I would want someone to explain to me is the inconceivable spike in injuries and fatalities linked directly to "texting" and driving? Dummies (unsafe drivers), have been driving since the Tin Lizzy rolled out of the factory.

If the numbers weren't so staggering I would throw the personal liberty card down too!

I will also add, which may or may not be obvious...

The "spike," if there actually is any, of injuries and fatalities linked to texting, would be due to the fact that texting did not exist until recently. The statistics for texting and driving in 1995 would be exactly zero.

By the same notion, there has also been a dramatic spike in injuries and fatalities linked to driving while listening to Katy Perry.

 

[Emperor]

Well, since text messaging has become mainstream, auto deaths have dropped dramatically, and fatalities per population have been dropping since cellphones became a thing in general. I think you're getting more worked up about this than the data would indicate.

Prior to text messaging, it was talking on a cellphone. Before that, it was using a cd player. Before that, it was the cassette deck and the radio. None of these things kill people. Assholes who compromise their driving to do any of these things do.

People dying behind the wheel is not a new thing. Auto travel is safer than it ever has been before. And more people talk, text, facebook, listen to music, use additional devices, watch movies, input GPS directions, track miles per gallon, all sorts of BS, than they ever have before.

I will also add, which may or may not be obvious...

The "spike," if there actually is any, of injuries and fatalities linked to texting, would be due to the fact that texting did not exist until recently. The statistics for texting and driving in 1995 would be exactly zero.

By the same notion, there has also been a dramatic spike in injuries and fatalities linked to driving while listening to Katy Perry.

Actually, I'm not so worked up over the texting itself as much as the lack of enforcement I see evident with my own eyes EVERYDAY, on the same stretch of road, 5 days per week!

Now, I do reject your premise; because texting requires a whole hell of a lot more attention and focus than any other multi-tasking you mentioned. And I am parroting the claims made by the transportation and safety groups that have stated publically that texting is the mac daddy of vehicle death.

The Katy Perry line IS funny however!

 

[JadeRaven]

Actually, I'm not so worked up over the texting itself as much as the lack of enforcement I see evident with my own eyes EVERYDAY, on the same stretch of road, 5 days per week!

Now, I do reject your premise; because texting requires a whole hell of a lot more attention and focus than any other multi-tasking you mentioned. And I am parroting the claims made by the transportation and safety groups that have stated publically that texting is the mac daddy of vehicle death.

The Katy Perry line IS funny however!

Thanks

I agree with you, there are tons of people doing it (virtually everyone with a cellphone), and zero effective enforcement. Whenever there is someone drifting in a lane, or very late to get on their brakes, very often it is someone who has their head buried in his or her phone.

The enforcement that I see frequently though is on people texting while stopped at a red light, which IMO is ridiculous, nothing unsafe about that. As usual, the enforcement is done by the laziest means possible while the most dangerous violators get away scot free.

 

[Whitebread]

Actually, I'm not so worked up over the texting itself as much as the lack of enforcement I see evident with my own eyes EVERYDAY, on the same stretch of road, 5 days per week!

Now, I do reject your premise; because texting requires a whole hell of a lot more attention and focus than any other multi-tasking you mentioned. And I am parroting the claims made by the transportation and safety groups that have stated publically that texting is the mac daddy of vehicle death.

The Katy Perry line IS funny however!

Ever watch a woman put on eye makeup? Talking about requiring lazer like focus. I have witnessed this repeatedly. I watched the guy next to me in his super duty a few years back read his paper. Bottom line stupid people with short attention spans or attempting to do something they should hage done at home while driving causes death.

And mad props to JadeRaven on the Katy Parry line because I put no stock in any government agency's statistics.

 

[Barry J]

I was beside a guy in New Orleans putting on his eye makeup.

 

[mike84z28]

I was beside a guy in New Orleans putting on his eye makeup.

Driving ?

 

[Barry J]

Driving ?

yes. Wife didn't believe me, so I slowed down to let him catch up.

 

[Emperor]

Ever watch a woman put on eye makeup? Talking about requiring lazer like focus. I have witnessed this repeatedly. I watched the guy next to me in his super duty a few years back read his paper. Bottom line stupid people with short attention spans or attempting to do something they should hage done at home while driving causes death.

And mad props to JadeRaven on the Katy Parry line because I put no stock in any government agency's statistics.

At least the end result may be a better looking woman for all (that see her), to enjoy! There is nothing we get out of some dumbass (again, mostly women), digitally cackling back and forth with another dumbass about which slut got to spend time with the Bachelor last night!

I can almost, almost; understand this phenomenon if someone could prove to me that the majority of the texting was of substantive communications.

I'll be waiting!