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Despite a law in place that bans texting while operating a motor vehicle, many Pennsylvania police are struggling to enforce the law because they say texting among drivers is difficult to identify.
At present, police employ imperfect methods designed to indicate likely texting while driving. As a result, many officers feel that the eight-month-old law, as currently drafted, is ineffective in curbing texting habits, and it’s almost impossible to effectively enforce.
For example, since texting is banned but making a phone call is not, drivers can simply insist they were making a phone call and not composing a text message. Even if police go ahead and issue the ticket, judges often have to dismiss the citations due to a lack of evidence.
Many citizens decline to fight their tickets because the $50 fee isn’t worth their time. But one attorney notes that these tickets are almost always beatable if a motorist is determined to get the citation thrown out.
Unlike some other states where texting bans have been implemented, Pennsylvania drivers are still allowed to dial a phone number or use navigation or other devices while driving. With smart phones providing a variety of services, it’s virtually impossible to confirm the activity that was being performed on the phone. In fact, the citations are so easily overcome that some feel officers are discouraged from issuing them simply because they don’t carry much weight.
Unfortunately, dangerous driving behavior related to texting is still easy to spot even when the texting proves evasive. And this distracted driving still carries a serious threat to other motorists.
Police can seek a search warrant to seize and examine the cell phone and determine what activity was ongoing at the time of the citation, but that takes a considerable amount of time that police would rather not commit.
Given the difficulties in enforcing the current law, revisions are being suggested to improve the law, such as banning the use of handheld devices altogether.
Source: Associated Press, “Police say texting ban for drivers hard to enforce,” Nov. 12, 2012