Wisconsin textingwhile-driving. results in few tickets

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1 Page 1 of 5 Wisconsin textingwhile-driving law results in few tickets Wisconsin's texting and driving law was enacted May 5, 2010, and took effect Dec. 1 of that year. It bans people from driving a motor vehicle "while composing or sending an electronic text message or an electronic mail message." Driving is defined as "the exercise of physical control over the speed and direction of a motor vehicle while it is in motion." The law exempts drivers of emergency vehicles and licensed amateur radio operators, along with the use of global positioning systems and hands-free devices. Penalties range from $20 to $400. Source: State statutes combined to issue just nine texting-whiledriving citations since the law took effect on Dec. 1, Of the 20 departments, 15 haven't applied the law. Statewide statistics paint a similar picture. Wisconsin's nearly 400 law enforcement agencies issued citations to only 162 drivers from last December through September, according to Capt. Nick Scorcio of the State Patrol. The offense ranks 71st in terms of the number of traffic convictions this year. By comparison, nearly 137,000 drivers were cited for speeding in the same time frame, records show. State Rep. Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, who authored the bill that made Wisconsin the 2 5th state to ban texting while driving, said enforcement isn't the appropriate measure of the law's success. He contends that the law brought attention to the dangers of the behavior. A nearly year-old state law that bans drivers from sending text messages has been applied sparingly or not at all by police agencies in the Fox Cities and elsewhere across the state, a Gannett Wisconsin Media review has found. A survey of 20 law enforcement agencies in Calumet, Outagamie, Waupaca and Winnebago counties revealed they have

2 Page 2 of 5 "The goal isn't to issue tickets," he said. "The goal is to prevent accidents and prevent fatalities." Measuring that is inexact. The number of crashes in which someone was killed this year through October was 429. The yearlong totals for 2010 and 2009 were 441 and 401, respectively. Police say the lack of citations doesn't reflect how seriously they take the conduct. But they point out that texting while driving is far more easily addressed through the inattentive driving law that already was on the books. "They could be looking at their pictures on the telephone and not sending a text message," New Holstein Police Officer Robert Baldwin said of the new law. "It's pretty hard to prove." A national issue Texting by drivers has been a key focus of safety officials on a national scale in recent years. State bans have spread quickly after Washington enacted the nation's first ban on texting while driving in There are now 34 states that ban the activity, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. something, they assume they can," she said. Neenah Police Chief Kevin Wilkinson said a ban on texting behind the wheel has value in the goal of building a culture in which drivers know better than to take the risk. He said he's more frequently seeing drivers pull to the side of the road before sending their texts. "I do think it has had an impact on driver behavior, but I don't know how to measure that," Wilkinson said. Enforcement challenges Police contemplating citations for texting while driving can't rely solely on whether a driver has a phone in hand. Drivers can legally read text messages. The law prohibits typing and manually sending them. State Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber, D- Appleton, said it was an important issue to address as technology grows and "our cars become more like an office." "Unless you tell people they can't do

3 Page 3 of 5 Violators face fines ranging from $20 to $400, along with four demerit points on the driver's license. Wisconsin's inattentive driving law carries the same penalties and requires officers only to observe that a person was driving while "so engaged or occupied as to interfere" with safety. Baldwin said it would be difficult to issue a ticket for texting while driving without either looking at a phone's text log for time stamps or getting an admission from the driver that he or she was typing or sending a message. As for inattentive driving, "It's covered if they're not paying attention for whatever the reason," Clintonville Police Chief Terry Lorge said. Neenah police cited two people for texting while driving this year. They also issued 48 inattentive-driving citations. A few of those were based on texting, Wilkinson said. Dangerous practice more likely to crash or nearly crash if engaged in texting. Last month, the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University released a study that found driver reaction time is doubled if the person is engaged in reading or texting. Incidents in the Fox Cities and across the state also highlight the dangerous distractions created by texting.» On Oct. 26, John P. French was charged with first-degree reckless homicide in Wood County in connection to a December crash that killed a 32-year-old man. French told police he was sending text messages to his girlfriend when he went through a stop sign and caused the crash, according to court records.» In Wausau, police arrested Chad M. Kopchinski on Oct. 27 after he rear-ended a state trooper's patrol car. Kopchinski, who also was legally drunk, acknowledged he was sending a text message when the Texting bans sprouted in the wake of studies showing significantly higher crash risks for drivers engaged with their electronic devices. In 2009, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that drivers dialing a phone were 2.8 times more likely to crash or nearly crash than undistracted drivers. The institute also found that drivers of trucks and other heavy vehicles were 23.2 times

4 Page 4 of 5 crash occurred, court records say.» The lone citation issued by the Outagamie County Sheriff's Department for texting while driving involved a July incident during which a man drove off the road into a yard. He also was intoxicated. The citation was issued after he acknowledged he was texting.» Last month, Neenah police issued a citation for inattentive driving to a man who struck a parked car while texting, Wilkinson said. Education a priority A significant number of drivers have acknowledged texting while behind the wheel, according to a 2009 survey by the AAA Foundation. It found that 21 percent of respondents used text or while driving within the previous 30 days. Safety advocates aren't relying on lawmakers alone to address the distraction. "We didn't need a law to talk about it," he said. "To me, it comes down to common sense." Texting dangers are even more serious for teens based on their lack of experience, Savitski said. In Brillion, police officers get the message across by working with driver's education programs. Students get behind the wheel and try to maneuver through a course of traffic cones while sending messages from their phones. Police Chief Dan Alloy said many of the teens have a cocky attitude about the exercise before turning the key. "They become very humble before it's over," he said. Savitski said prohibiting texting while driving is a good idea, regardless of whether the specific law is widely enforced. "It'll take all angles to make this work," The nonprofit Ad Council recently launched a nationwide public service announcement campaign addressing the danger of texting while driving. And it's been a key topic for those teaching the next generation of drivers. Bob Savitski, owner of Drivers' Education of the Fox Cities, said any message highlighting the danger of driver distraction is welcome.

5 Page 5 of 5 Savitski said. "We don't want them cited; we just want it to stop." DISTRACTED DRIVING RISKS» Dialing a cellphone while driving in a car increases the risk of a crash or near crash by 2.8 times.» Those who talk on a cell phone are 1.3 times more likely to crash or nearly crash than an undistracted driver.» Text messaging among those who drive trucks or other heavy vehicles increases the risk of a crash or near crash 23.2 times.» Dialing a cellphone while driving a truck increases crash risks 5.9 times. DEADLY CRASHES The number of fatal vehicle crashes and people killed in Wisconsin since 2006: Crashes Fatalities Average More