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Monday, August 08, 2011
Ind. Law - "No tickets for texting and driving, yet: Area police say ban is difficult to enforce"
Sophia Voravong has the story in today's Lafayette Journal Courier. Some quotes:
A month after an Indiana law took effect that bans drivers on Indiana roads from typing, sending or reading text messages and emails on their cell phones, police departments here have yet to issue a ticket.One of the top reasons?
The law, as currently written, is difficult to enforce, said Lt. Gary Sparger, commander of the West Lafayette Police Department's patrol division.
"The fact of the matter is, it's pretty difficult to tell what a person is doing with a phone," he said. "The same movements you do to text on a phone ... you do for other applications.
"You have to be certain if you're pulling someone over in a traffic stop."
Deputy Chief Dave Payne of the Lafayette Police Department confirmed last week that his agency also has not issued any texting-while-driving tickets.
Neither has the Indiana State Police post in Lafayette, said Sgt. Kim Riley. The Lafayette post serves Tippecanoe and seven surrounding counties. * * *
Sparger said he believes the law was designed to encourage "voluntary compliance" -- in other words, people will not text while driving because they know of the potential consequences.
He said he has seen some drivers in West Lafayette stop and pull over to send a text or email since the law took effect.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on August 8, 2011 08:37 AM
Posted to Indiana Law