Virginia Lawmakers Consider Making Texting While Driving a Primary Offense | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The Virginia State Legislature is considering a bill that would make texting a primary offense. Police in Virginia would be allowed to pull over drivers for texting. Currently, police are only allowed to pull over drivers if they are committing another violation such as speeding or failing to stop at a stop sign.

The fine for driving while texting would be small, only $20 if it is the first offense or $50 for a second offense.

My Virginia personal injury attorney colleagues and I strongly believe that more laws restricting texting while driving, along with educational programs that teach teens about the dangers of using handheld electronic devices behind the wheel, are needed. Young drivers do not only text as easily as they breathe, they also feel immortal. This is a dangerous combination. Something must be done to limit distracted driving, and all drivers need to understand that no text message is important enough to die for.

As lawyers who focus only on personal injury law, we have been very involved with this issue and even wrote a consumer report about the dangers associated with distracted driving. We support the idea behind this legislation and look forward to watching the bill go through the legislative process, AC