MBPD’s take on the new texting and driving law

Alabama Act Number 2012-291 – better known as the statewide texting and driving ban – presented tricky questions for most cell phone users when it went into effect on August 1.

To help clear the confusion, Sargent Al Eason of the Mountain Brook Police Department sat down with Village Living to talk about the law and how it is being enforced.

Is it okay to use other features of your phone while driving?

According to the law, operating a GPS while driving is legal as long as the coordinates are pre-programmed. Reading, selecting and entering telephone numbers into a cell phone is also still legal, as well as using a cell phone for emergency communication.

What would you say to someone who isstill texting at red lights?

It’s legal to text if the car is parked on the shoulder of a road, but not at a red

light. It’s like being drunk at a red light. You’re still the operator of a vehicle.

How do you know when someone is texting and driving?

I’ve run into some difficulties with the new law due to its difficulty to enforce. When it comes to accidents, texting is hard to pin down as a perpetrator due to the fact that most people won’t admit to doing it behind the wheel. It is also difficult for most officers to determine the difference between texting and driving and operating the phone.

Do you personally feel that it is unsafe to text and drive?

If you’re texting, you’re operating using only one hand on the steering wheel. The mechanics are off. You can’t operate the vehicle and the signals and devices properly with a phone in your hand. It’s the law for a reason. Someone has done enough research and conducted enough studies to figure out that it’s a factor in traffic accidents. So don’t do it.

How has the new law personally affected you?

I don’t like using the phone at home much less while I’m driving.