Texting While Driving in Tennessee: Banned Beginning July 1
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Tennessee Texting while Driving Ban Goes Into...
Starting July 1, state patrol officers can ticket drivers who text message while their vehicle is in motion.
Dana Wachter/11 Connects
Jimmy Thompson’s family friend was killed Saturday while she was texting and driving. She was seventeen. He plans to make sure his own soon-to-be driving teenagers pay attention on the road.
Washington Co., Tenn.—A new Tennessee driving law may be a disappointment to people addicted to text messaging, but it’s a preventative measure to help keep streets safer.
The law was sponsored by Bristol Republican Congressman Jon Lunburg, and Tennessee state legislatures passed the law in April. Governor Bredesen signed it by mid-May.
The ban goes into effect tomorrow, July 1.
It is a misdemeanor offense, where officers can pull a car over just for texting while driving. The fine can be no more than fifty dollars, and no more than ten dollars of court fees. No points will be attributed to the driver’s license.
Public service members, as in, police, EMS, fire fighters, EMA workers, campus police officers, are still allowed to text while driving, as long as they are using it as part of their job responsibility.
Local patrol officers will be briefed on the ban and its stipulations within the week. People can expect warnings for a short time period, as the community gets used to the new law.
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Reader Reactions
So the next questions are:
is it ok (legal) to stare at your handheld gps device while driving. Seems to be just as dangerous (or not).
If you were, how would a peace officer tell the difference?
Will that be the next thing to be outlawed?
I agree with d2017, what need to the cops and such to use texting? They have radios in their cars so why? I guess the next time I am driving down the road and see a cop then I should pull them over and make them prove to me and the courts that they are using this texting for work reasons and not just texting with family or friends. OH YEA LET ME TRY THAT ONE!
Thank God and who ever got this bill underway and passed. It is hard enough to have both hands on the wheel and both eyes on the road and be as dilligent as you can, and then still there are accidents. This texting thing is not only THE YOUNG PEOPLE EITHER!!! I am way over the hill age wise, and I nave friends my age and older who are hooked on texting. I do not however know if they do it while driving, but if they do…SHAME ON THEM!!!
It’s about time someone did something about the texting while driving although I do not think it will help. I feel that talking on a cell phone is just as dangerous! It’s not just the act of doing something else while driving, when talking or texting on the cell, your mind is distracted. Your speed becomes irractic and lane changes are made without looking. I hope it will help but I doubt that it is enough!
It’s working now.
Thanks Heather. I didn’t know about that. The big problem is that I don’t have all my numbers on speed dial where it only takes two taps on the keypad to dial. Oh well. Now, let’s do something about all the other morons on the roads who put on makeup and comb their hair while driving. I do eat and drive and probably will continue to do that if it’s a burger or biscuit. I don’t have a problem with holding a burger or biscuit with one hand and the steering wheel with the other one. If it’s something else, I’ll eat at the restaurant or at home. Take care all.
It’s about time!
The video should be working now - sometimes it takes a while to load into our system. I apologize for the delay.
Nana - to continue our earlier conversation from the previous post on this bill, from the language of the bill it appears as if typing in a phone number on your phone is also illegal…
“(b) No driver shall operate a motor vehicle on any highway while using a
hand held mobile telephone or a hand held personal digital assistant to transmit or read a written message while such vehicle is in motion; provided, that a driver does not transmit or read a written message for the purpose of this subsection
(b) if such driver reads, selects or enters a telephone number or name in a hand held mobile telephone or a personal digital assistant for the purpose of making or receiving a telephone call.“
But hey, at least the fine is just $10.
Video is not working. 
While I can certainly understand the ban of texting while driving, I don’t understand at all what circumstances would justify a public service member being allowed to do so.
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