New year rings in tougher driving laws

When the clock struck 12:01 a.m. Thursday, several new traffic laws affecting residents statewide took effect.

The new laws include no texting while driving - which closes the loophole to the hands-free law enacted six months ago; zero tolerance for those convicted of driving under the influence while on probation, and the placement of global positioning systems on windshields.

An estimated 20 percent of drivers send or receive text messages while behind the wheel, according to a Nationwide Insurance Co. study. That number skyrockets to 66 percent for drivers 18 to 24.

“Texting has become very popular in the last couple of years,” said California Highway Patrol Officer Bob Kays. “It’s very problematic, because drivers aren’t paying attention to the road.”

The harm, Kays says, is that reading, writing and sending a “text-based communication” while driving is an extreme distraction.

“We want your hands on the wheel, your eyes on the road and your mind on driving,” Kays said. “It’s almost impossible to concentrate on driving while typing out or reading a text message.”

According to a British study, texting while driving is more dangerous than being under the influence of alcohol or marijuana.

U.K. researchers, using a simulator, found driver reaction time was slowed 35 percent while sending or receiving texts, compared to only 21 percent while driving under the influence of marijuana and 12 percent after consuming alcohol.

Texting drivers also saw their steering control suffer a 91 percent degradation, and had trouble maintaining a safe distance from the cars around them, the study reported.

“Sending or reading a text message is  dangerous and people shouldn’t be doing it,” Kays said.

Violating the new law will result in a base fine of $20 for a first offense and $50 for each subsequent offense, Kays said, but with the addition of local penalty assessments, fines can be more than triple the base fine amount.

Also on the books for 2009 is a new “zero tolerance” law for those on probation for driving under the influence.

“You can’t have any alcohol in your system if you are on probation for driving under the influence,” Kays said. “The idea behind the law is to stop habitual drinking and driving behavior. We want people to think twice before taking a drink and getting behind the wheel of a car.”

Kays warns drivers on DUI probation to watch also what they eat and drink after the first of the year.

“Even eating something like rum cake or drinking a cup of eggnog can result in alcohol being detected if you should happen to be tested,” Kays said. “You have to abstain from all alcohol. Loosing your car and license is costly, so drivers on probation must use extra caution.”

A third law affecting residents allows a portable global positioning system device to be mounted only in a 7-inch square in the lower comer of the windshield on the passenger side or 5-inch square in the lower corner of the windshield on the driver’s side.

The GPS device can only be used for navigational purposes while the vehicle is being operated, Kays said, and is required to be mounted outside of an airbag deployment zone.

Kays said the purpose of the law was to keep windshields uncluttered.