Recently, David Daggett spoke with ABC45’s Holly May about the legal ramifications of texting and driving as part of the ABC45 NO TEXT ZONE campaign. Daggett Shuler is a proud sponsor of the NO TEXT ZONE campaign.
In addition to putting yourself and others in danger, there are legal ramifications involved in texting and driving. North Carolina has a blanket ban on texting and driving, meaning that if an officer pulls you over while texting you will receive a ticket and will have to pay a $100 fine plus court costs, which can be an additional one or two hundred dollars. The cost of the ticket is intended to curb texting and driving before a driver gets behind the wheel, but as discussed in our last blog post, some drivers are not discouraged.
Texting and driving falls under the umbrella term distracted driving. Distracted driving encompasses any activity that a driver is engaged in while driving that takes the driver’s attention from the road, such as talking on a cell phone. In North Carolina there is no blanket prohibition on talking on a cell phone while operating a vehicle. The only exceptions for cell phone use are for provisional drivers, those who are under 18 years of age, and bus drivers.
While it may be legal in North Carolina to talk on the phone, it is not recommended. Anytime that you are taking your brain’s attention away from the task at hand – driving – you are putting yourself and others at greater risk for an accident.
It is never worth the risk, to you or to others, to use a cell phone in any capacity while driving.
For more information, please visit:
http://www.abc45.com/shared/news/features/ntz/