{"id":423,"date":"2010-05-26T19:47:42","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T01:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wis-injury.com\/blog\/?p=423"},"modified":"2010-05-26T19:48:34","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T01:48:34","slug":"aaa-lauds-wisconsin-for-being-25th-state-to-pass-driver-texting-ban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wis-injury.com\/blog\/2010\/05\/aaa-lauds-wisconsin-for-being-25th-state-to-pass-driver-texting-ban.html","title":{"rendered":"AAA Lauds Wisconsin For Being 25th State To Pass Driver Texting Ban"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n
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AAA has commended Wisconsin for being\u00a0the 25th<\/sup> state to outlaw text messaging by all drivers, as the organization’s\u00a0effort to pass bans in all 50 states has reached its halfway point.<\/p>\r\n

Gov. Jim Doyle signed the bill into law earlier this month, making\u00a0Wisconsin\u00a0the sixth state this year\u00a0to ban text messaging while driving.\u00a0 AAA expects several more states to enact similar legislation this year.<\/p>\r\n

\u201cWisconsin gets us halfway to AAA’s campaign goal\u00a0of passing text messaging bans for all drivers in all 50 states,\u201d\u00a0AAA president and CEO Robert\u00a0Darbelnet said in a prepared statement. \u201cLast year, 12 states enacted text messaging bans for all drivers and we anticipate that several more states will act against this dangerous source of driver distraction this year.”<\/p>\r\n

Darbelnet continued, \u201cTexting while driving is associated with significant physical and cognitive distractions and the proliferation of the practice is endangering all users of our nation\u2019s roadways. Surveys show the overwhelming majority of Americans agree that this behavior is dangerous and they support text messaging bans. AAA urges legislators in states without texting bans to pass laws this year.\u201d<\/p>\r\n

The AAA has plenty of research to back up its concerns about the dangers of texting and driving.\u00a0Research conducted over the last two years by the Auto Club of Southern California speaks to the benefit of\u00a0California\u2019s texting-while- driving ban.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0Observations in Orange County in July last year showed that texting had dropped about 70 percent, to 0.4 percent of all drivers, in the first six months of California\u2019s ban.<\/p>\r\n

Observations conducted in late March and early April this year showed that texting had increased to 1.1 percent, but remained below the 1.4 percent usage rate observed prior to the law taking effect.<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0Southern California research offers evidence that legislation outlawing text messaging by all drivers can have a positive effect on driver behavior, but\u00a0the upturn in texting rates shown in the latest research illustrates the need for visible enforcement, significant penalties and continued public education.<\/p>\r\n

Legislation to establish or\u00a0 improve an existing ban on text messaging while driving is currently being considered in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Missouri, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Vermont.<\/p>\r\n

The\u00a0states\u00a0that now prohibit text messaging by all drivers: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming.<\/p>\r\n

The District of Columbia also has a texting ban.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0“AAA Wisconsin applauds the Wisconsin State Legislature and Governor Doyle for passing thisnew law that will significantly enhance driving safety across our state,”\u00a0AAA Wisconsin regional president Tom Frymark said in his prepared statement. “We’ll continue to make drivers aware of the dangers of texting while driving and of the importance of obeying this new law.”<\/p>\r\n

Wisconsin\u2019s law will become effective Nov. 1, as the Badger State\u00a0joins Michigan, Kentucky, Nebraska, Iowa\u00a0and Wyoming in enacting text messaging bans for all drivers this year.<\/p>\r\n

\u00a0The dates when\u00a0those respective laws take effect are:<\/p>\r\n