Barstonians welcome texting-while-driving ban

BARSTOW • Katie Horine admits that she used to text her friends while she drove. The Verizon Wireless employee got a wake-up call when she rear-ended someone on Saturday while texting.

The other car was fine. Horine’s car ended up with a crumpled front end, she said.

“Now I don’t touch my phone at all (when I’m driving),” she said.

Horine said she fully supports a law signed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last Wednesday, which will outlaw sending text messages while driving. State Senate Bill 28, introduced by Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, bans drivers from reading, writing or  sending electronic communications, including text messages, instant messages and e-mails. The law goes into effect Jan. 1, 2009.

The passage of the bill follows on the heels of a law that took effect in July that banned talking on the phone without a hands-free device while driving. That law made no mention of texting, however.

“I don’t like it, but I think it’s right,” said Fort Irwin Sgt. Alphonso Harvey of the texting ban.

Harvey admits that he sends text messages while driving. Although he agrees that it’s not the best idea,  he said he was unsure whether he would stop doing it once the law takes effect.

Juan Villalobos, a truck driver at Fort Irwin, on the other hand, said the new law will come as a relief to him. Villalobos talks with a headset when he’s driving, so the new ban on texting won’t affect his personal habits, but it will make him feel more secure on the road.
“It makes a big difference, because it’s safer  — I feel it’s safer,” he said.

Horine said her customers at the Barstow Verizon store are generally in support of the bans on talking and texting behind the wheel. The store has seen a massive influx of people buying Bluetooth wireless devices to allow them to legally talk on their phones in the car.

However, Horine also said she believes that more people began texting on the road after talking without a hands-free device was outlawed.

CHP Officer Richard Vega. He did not have Barstow-specific statistics said he gives out about one ticket a week for to people talking on their cell phones while driving. He has also noticed an increase in drivers texting since the hands-free talking law was passed.

“Even though they’re not on the phone, they’re still texting, taking their attention away from the roadway,” he said.

The law:
As of Jan. 1, 2009 violators of the no-texting-while-driving law face a fine of $20 on the first offense and $50 on each subsequent offense.

Did you know:
To date, the California Highway Patrol has given out about 19,753 citations statewide to people talking on their phone while driving.
Source: Officer Richard Vega, Barstow-area CHP


Contact the writer:
(760) 256-4123 or asewell@desertdispatch.com