Utah Now Punishes Texting While Driving With Prison Sentence

I have very mixed feelings about this. On the one hand, I have been known to knock out a short text or email while driving, and on long trips it's a given that I'm playing Texas Hold'Em to keep me awake.

Now before y'all jump down my throat, let me explain that I NEVER take my eyes off the road when doing these activities - I do not need to. I can continue to scan the road 100% of the time, and use my peripheral vision to put in the text or decide whether to fold, raise, or call.

I've never even had a close call, and in fact while DOING these activities I've almost been side swiped by some young idiot who didn't check their blind spot before changing lanes into MY lane. Assholes!! I'm an extremely defensive driver, and having lived in SD, Seoul, Mexico City, Tijuana, Manila, AND Budapest I've had the time/experience needed to hone my skillz to a very fine edge.

Ok, now on to the "...but..."

Most people I interact with are (BY CHOICE IN ALMOST ALL CASES) woefully ignorant. I mean about almost EVERYthing. And when I'm driving out there, I just ASSUME that each and every moment someone else will do something stupid and cause an accident. This is how my dad taught me to drive, and it has saved my LIFE more than once.

So, this law in Utah panders to the lowest common denominator, much like ALL our laws and ALL our social services.

If it improves the overall quality of life for the majority of Utanites, then I'm afraid I'd have to vote for it.

BUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTT - my overall point is that we COULD have a society in which people were REQUIRED to achieve their very top potential, and make laws/services that pander to the ELITE instead (them then being in the majority).

We could.

banmojo

@dark_quota: okay we agree haha. and sleep.

@Weihovah: other distractions shoudl be illegal, yes. I know that's not going to happen, and I know what you mean about 1-handed t9-ing. still, i think you look down to check that all the words are spelled right and all at the end, and that is those precious seconds where you are not paying attention to the road.
Full disclosure: I have texted while driving before. I regret it, it is freaking stupid. i no longer do that anymore

@RichasB: no you idiot, it's not even okay when the hot chick texts you. i drive a stick shift too, you're not special

They ought to pass that law in every state.

vqro

@SashiLion: "I dont look at the screen for usually more then one second."

SashiLion, Do you have any idea how far you can travel during that one second your eyes are diverted from the road? At highway speeds, easily 88 feet. While .. you ... are ... not ... even ... LOOKING. And you say "usually," so I assume there are instances where your attention is diverted from your driving for even longer.

I don't care how well someone does on their driving test. That's totally irrelevant to whether texting while driving is reckless. What I care about is whether I'm the guy in front of you while your unguided missile is flying towards me at 60 mph and you're not even looking at the damn road.

The problem with texting and DUI is that you don't just endanger yourself. If that were the case, I'd say let Darwinism take its course. But people who text while driving endanger INNOCENT people who are minding their own business, obeying the rules of the road, and have no way to avoid the idiots who aren't even looking at the road while they text.

And while we're at it, I can't believe Danny Allen or anyone else would approve that comment.

WeedMonkey

I agree with this new law. Being from Utah and seeing how many people text and drive, this is a good thing.

@nathrat: Guess you shouldn't text and drive in Utah, then, eh?

Griffehpoo

@drive90: Ever been in a wreck? Like the kind where a dude T-bones you while he's not paying attention and entering the highway and your car does a 180 at 55 mph in traffic? You wouldn't take your eyes off the road if you had.

Griffehpoo

@Helzerman: Yeah, police used to just be there to control crime, not stupidity.

@s5: I'm sure they would make sure that you were sending texts as well. I mean people are dumb, but they can't be that dumb. (I am being sarcastic but at the same time, I'm pretty sure they would check for outgoing before accussing you.)

@incubushead: it was great for like 10 min. But I would put it on the level of lolcats

@heimbachae: god i hate that site

Everyone in Utah has to be saying to themselves every morning when they wake up "FML"

heimbachae

@tekdemon: They should do both--expensive tickets for being caught texting, jail time if it leads to a crash, and huge jail time if that crash leads to death.

@FredicvsMaximvs: I've been driving for about 15 years. I've logged over 100,000 miles on the road. I've never texted while driving, and don't ever intend to.

I don't think there should be a special law banning texting while driving. Nor banning talking on a cell phone while driving. There should be strong laws against distracted driving, with particular application to persons driving in a visibly unsafe manner, whether or not that person is involved in an accident.

So whether you're distracted by changing the radio station, or dunking your chicken nuggets in BBQ sauce, or texting on your phone, or even looking over your shoulder at the kids fighting in the back seat, if you exhibit erratic behavior you should get a hefty penalty. Singling out texting is just giving in to moral panic about one facet of a much larger problem.

MauriceCallidice

@Shamoononon: It's really hot today.: Now THERE's an interesting idea! Let the folks who want to text and drive, but make it a law that they have to drive a SmartCar. :)

@FaRReR: Not on blue tooth. I have a voice activated blue tooth system in my car. I don't need to take my eyes off the road. A lot of cars are being built with this now.

I still think it's a bit distracting though, and don't normally even use that. But it's MUCH safer than texting or dialing.

@lordmorgul: I hope you drive mini cooper or something and that my vehicle outweighs yours by at least a ton.

It takes a split second worth of attention loss for something terrible to happen. That siphoned amount of attention you use to send a text could cost me my life.

Yet another reason to avoid Utah. I don't want to text and drive, but I also don't want to go to jail for 15 years if I happen to get into an accident and some overzealous prosecutor decides to dig through my phone bill. If I get an incoming text around the same time as a car accident, I could end up in jail for 15 years even if I didn't check the new message or use my phone in any way.

s5

@Dennis Raver: Still illegal.

It's sad that we need laws like this, however unfortunately we do. Yes, it would be nice to think that people would have enough common sense not to text while driving -but they don't, and others are getting killed.

And to the poster who talked about shaving (?) while driving -you would get a ticket for that and if you killed someone, in almost any state, you might be charged in relation to that death. Just because there isn't an explicit law on the books doesn't mean you should do something (a thing to consider if you have other bright ideas like running with scissors).

So -why the law against texting and not shaving? Because of the dreadful statistics on how many people are driving/texting it and how many are being injured/killed. Sad that people must be policed into decent behavior.

@SPni: I LOL'ed so f**king hard!!! ROFLCOPTER!!!

The ending kind of drags on though. Should've stopped around 00:35, right after that girl's neck snaps like a crunchy taco.

Hmmm, tacoossss...

RichasB

@Brett Benedict: The general opinion is that NO ONE LIKES PAYING TAXES!! Assuming yo have a job, do you like it when you look at your paycheck and Uncle Sam takes a good hundred dollars away? Did the government come and help you at your job to justify the taking of those one hundred+ dollars? And when you go home at night and turn on the news and hear about runaway spending and a trillion dollar national debt, are you still not angry that they took away your hard earned money?

RichasB

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse:
I Do understand the point, but comprehension doesn't mean I have to care. Comprehension and such trivial things such as compassion are not synonymous.
And yes, I am familiar with the term gal, but I said it was a gentleman you saw, and not a woman, because "gals" belong in the kitchen, making us sandwiches.

Also, lulz.

RichasB

@FredicvsMaximvs: Too long, didn't read. Go cash a social security check, old man, while you still can.
(Also, I have to write the letter cuz my congressman voted against it, Wonderful).

RichasB

@SPni: but did she get the number?

hadees

Driving is a privledge, not a right, and when you are on the road with hundreds of people aorund you, you owe it to yourself and everyone else on the road to be doing nothing while driving but driving. of course people are goign to eat. And smoke. And change radio stations. But these things take very little attention. Texting, and yes, even talking while holkding a phone, take your attention away from the road much longer. And don't give me this crap about multi-tasking. People who sya that they can multi-task well are generally the people that don't. When you are on the road, you should be doign NOTHING but driving. You need to talk to someone, pull off the road. if you need to text, pull off the goddamn road.
Studies have been done, all of you a-holes out there, that texting and talking on the phone slow eaction time considerably. Its not a matter of if you get into an accient or hurt someone, it's when. And if you are arrogant enough to get in the car and think thet you are special enough to drive and text at the same time, and you get into an accident because of your arrogance and negligence, yeah, you deserve to go away for a loooong time. guess what, the law takes away peoples licenses all the time, and many of them drive again anyway. So if the only way to get dangerous texters off the road is to throw them in jail for fifteen years, good for Utah. Just like a drunk who gets into a car and hurts someone, a texter, who knows full well that his attention ito the road is going to be compromised, should have the book thrown at them. Then maybe other kids and people who think this is an acceptible activity will think twice
NOTHING is so important that you can't wait until you get where you're going to text. or get a goddamn hands free. but DO NOT put me and my children at risk because you think you can multi-task, because, guess what, you can't. And it would really suck for you to learn this when the person in your passenger seat is bleeding and dying next to you.
FIFteen years is too little. A messgae needs to be sent, because NO ONE should have to die because someone else is texting.

TorreyAeneas

A nice PSA from the Welsh.

Also texting while driving is fucking moronic.

I say that if someone is caught texting while driving that they have there license pulled. Even if they dont cause an accident.

ploopsy

I have a buddy who pulled out in front of a truck on a fast road while texting. He always told me that he was better than most people. He ended up in a coma when the truck slammed into the driver's side of his car. The doctor told him that he was VERY lucky to wake up months later. I guess he learned his lesson, but to think that such loss had to happened in order to learn something that's common sense is beyond me. FIY, he was never the same after they patched him up.

NanBabble

Scientists, in Utah. Sounds fishy

@rpm773: 1. Is there anybody to sue?
2. Do they have money?

Doesn't make sense in this situation.

Ralphalph

I drive and Text every single day but i do it carefully, and i dont look at the screen for usually more then one second. I have a Xperia X1 and i dont need to look at the keyboard to send a message.

i Think once we start down this path, we are going to make everything illigal while driving.

there will always be dumbass people who drive, and who will kill your sister or brother, or what not (EVEN when sober, and NOT texting)

so maybe we should just have tougher driving tests and leave it be?


Drivers ED is a joke, as that guy said. And i too learned all about driving from being in other peoples cars as i grew up.

I drove better on my first try then most people who were handed a license

SashiLion

while were at it, lets license drivers instead of letting children take a 15 question test when they are 16. its not the texting its the lack of concentration of whats goin on. lack of attentiveness is the MAIN cause of a lot of accidents. it has nothing to do with the distracting agent other than the drivers weak focus. the radio/cellphone/cappuccino machines need to all be banned. ppl who use their hands on things other than the steering wheel shouldnt, its bad form.

shadymilkman

Wait, where's our precious civil litigation system on this issue? You know, the ones that in years passed have sued tobacco companies, asbestos companies, and medical institutions into the ground?

Rather than a new law with a ridiculous sentence, can't this problem be solved by making both parties in the texting session, the provider, and the phone manufacturer all liable for negligence of some sort?

I'm really only partly being facetious here...

@bagellord: It may be severe that is for sure for it is extremely easy to avoid it.. just do not text while driving.

@FredicvsMaximvs: well said

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

i txt and drive all the time. and i still watch the road cus i can blind txt >:D suck on that

SharvaniAntlion

I suspect the harshness of the sentence of this law has something to do with what those scientists had just discovered prior to being mowed down.

Most people are so stupid they can't normally drive half as good as alot of us who drink/text and drive. The drooling masses just need another stereotype to demonize so they feel better about their own sad pathetic little lives.

ShrideviCairns

Uhh.. Utah gives 15 years now for texting while driving, we need another law for that? Wouldn't wrecking your car while texting be "reckless driving" anyway? Ain't that already illegal. Not to mention killing someone would be vehicular manslaughter if the driver were also convicted of reckless driving. So we need this law why??

If they can try and convict someone for unlawfully using a computer because she created a false facebook account and bullied a young girl into committing suicide, I am sure we can pull this one off.

On the idea of American jurisprudence - Here in the USA, in Florida your drive drunk, kill a guy with your Rolls-Royce and you get 24 days and probation. You shoot yourself in the leg with a gun you don't have permit for, you get 2 years in a New York prison, and we want to worry about convicting someone of a crime for texting!

Besides, I am sure when Alexander Graham Bell spent all this time inventing the phone,I don't think he planned on idiots using it as a typewriter!

Michael Cody

@FuturePastNow: Texting while driving isn't "stupid." Rather, it is "actively choosing to engage in a behavior which needlessly endangers others." The 15 year prison terms would be for those who, having chosen such a reckless activity, thereafter - in consequence of their choice - injury/kill others.

The prison terms are not for "being stupid" but rather for acting in an avoidable manner which led to devastating conclusions.

If I lived in Utah, i'd be very please (not because I live in Utah, but because of this law).

zebostoneleigh

@bagellord: It's not the "hands off the wheel" part that's worrisome. it's the "eyes off the road" part ('cause it doesn't really matter where your hands are - if you don't even see what you're about to hit).

zebostoneleigh

You know, there's a feature in cellphones that allows you to communicate with the other person without having to type it into the keyboard, oh yeah, IT'S CALLED THE FUCKING PHONE!! If you can't text the person you're trying to reach, why the fucking hell don't you just call him?!

That does seem a little stupid. Fining people or revoking their license would be a much better deterrent. That being said, I never text and drive. The only time I text or email is when I'm completely stopped and the cars around me are too. Of course, I do sometimes skim emails while driving if it's something important, but not in heavy traffic.

On a related subject, I think that handsfree like bluetooth and the like is a good idea. I have bluetooth built into my truck, and a pad on the dashboard for my blackberry so I can take a short glance at it to see who's calling. I never have to take my hands off the wheel.

I'm sorry but if you put texting and driving drunk in the same category then you're an idiot.

Good old Utah, can that state get any more screwed up?

I doubt this would have gone as far as it has had the driver killed two Walmart workers.

I_have_something_to_say

Hahahaha, this is ridiculous!

Inception

@lordmorgul: I will concede that different people have different abilities when it comes to situational awareness. This is why we aren't all fighter pilots. Is it possible that there are people who can know when to text and when not to? Sure. Are there people who can handle a glance down and poking a couple letters while on a realtively open road? Sure.

However, there are a great many people who can't handle it. And the law does have to be universal. We either let everybody text while driving or we don't. And so a law like this protects us from the people who can't handle it.

So maybe you're an amazingly coordinated and responsible person who can text at traffic lights and in bumper-to-bumper traffic, and who knows that it's not a good idea in heavy traffic at 70 mph. I commend you for this, and if everybody were like that I'd be the first to agree that a law like this is unnecessary. but everybody is NOT like this, and therefore we need a law to protect us from being maimed or killed by them.

"If you were to crash while texting, the punishment could be extremely severe—up to 15 years in prison."

I think that is absolutely wonderful. I can't fucking stand people who text while driving. You might as well pound a pint of vodka and put a blindfold on.

@drive90: how many people do you think drive drunk that don't get into an accident? should we relax the laws, just because most people don't hurt any one? your example is idiotic. nothing scares me more, while riding a motorcycle, than people screwing with their phones.

@FredicvsMaximvs: har har fail

@nathrat: The nearest living thing is yourself, so I think I approve of this. :D

This is insane. You punish stupidity by hitting people in the wallet.

Fines are the punishment for doing things like this, not prison. We have far too many people in prison already.

@frigg: The point of a law like this is fear and misunderstanding of technology and failure of the politicians to understand the difference between false deterrence (fear of a possible penalty) and real deterrence (educating the population about the real cause and effect).

@RichasB: Some of us "old" people - I'm 40 - understand the technology just fine, thankyouverymuch. We also happen to have the life experience to know about a lot of other things that many of you kids don't seem to understand.

Let's take your exmple: you've just demonstrated an incomplete understanding of the whole 'net neutrality issue. Left to their own devices, the ISPs aren't going to keep the 'net neutral. There's too much money to be made by fiddling with connection speeds and promoting some websites over others. So there needs to be regulation that prevents them from doing this. So really, you ought to be writing your congressman and telling him or her that they should mess with the internet and keep it neutral.

But to get back to the texting vs. driving issue... I'm guessing you haven't been driving long enough to see or experience exactly how fast something can go wrong when you're driving. Sure, you can go years without anything happening, but it only takes one tiny instant of inattention to make contact with another vehicle. That one instant can drastically change or end a life before you even know what's happening. And the reason for a law like this is to keep idiots like you from doing that to other people.

@switchblade saints: A steep sentence is never a deterrent for a 'crime' that 50% of a population ALREADY DOES. Education is the only effective deterrent in that case.

@ReconToaster.: Perhaps driver education should not be such a joke in this country and instead we should discuss things of relevance like how to multitask, shared attention, distance and speed estimation techniques, visual aperture (learning to view and understand motion in your periphery), etc.

Drivers Ed. was a complete waste of my time when I was 16. I had already spent lots of time riding dirtbikes and doing other outdoor activities that train you to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. I learned all I needed to know about the rules of the road from watching other drivers before I had my own license... and yes I do mean both what the rules are and what rules MOST drivers fail to follow... which is just as important if not more so in driving defensively.

@FredicvsMaximvs: And awareness is not the same for all people. Many drivers can text safely in typical driving situations.

There is no universal 'this is unsafe' measurement for humans because they (pay attention here) are not all the same. The ability to FOCUS attention on the most important aspects of driving while SIPHONING a portion of unused attention to other tasks is a learned process, but is not impossible.

Attention is finite, but driving does not always require all of it. That is all.

Federal Prisons are overcrowded. Release more murderers and rapists so we can get all these texters in there asap...
Ah yes, we sure do love our revenue generating ignorant laws based entirely on hype around here. These legitimate citizen safety issues like keeping repeat violent crime offenders behind bars... not a big deal to politicians.

@slabbius: You've also missed the key phrase "up to." The judge / jury will have some discretion in whether or not the sentence warrants the full 15 years.

@drive90: "I text while driving, and will continue to do so, until it is illegal in my state."

Or until you crash and die. Sorry, but if your eyes are on your phone, they're not on the road. Things can get hairy VERY quickly at highway speeds - in the time it takes for you to look down at your phone, type a couple letters, and look up again, you could be right up in somebody else's rear bumper.

It's not so much about how many things you're able to do at one time as it is about awareness of your surroundings and the ability to react extremely quickly.

@ReconToaster.: Next thing you are going to say is that "people get into drunk driving accidents because they don't know how to hold their alcohol. It is not the act of drinking and driving that is at fault. Murder and mayhem linked to alcohol is caused by the few fools who can't control their liquor." This is patently absurd don't you think?

This activity is inherently dangerous. If you can't wait the 5 minutes or 50 minutes or 5 hours it takes to get to your destination then something very sad is going on. While I am torn by 15 years I also think about lives and families destroyed, not because someone could not "multitask" but because they could not wait the short amount of time it took to get to their destination before they sent that all important text or tweet or e-mail. . .

I was coming home from a wedding last night and while stopped at a red light I looked around to find out where that damn loud music was coming from. Next to me were two young ladies in a car with the music BLARING. Low and behold they were texting. Both faces illuminated while they looked down at their phones. They were in the exact same position. I thought to myself that they must be texting one another because they simply could not hear each other over the loud ass music. I also thought to myself, "can't you just simply wait for a while?" "Can't you talk to one another? You are sitting not one foot away from another flesh and blood individual. . . . " Technology is a wonderful thing but it does change who and what we are and not always for the better.

By the way. . . people criminally prosecuted all the time for "lack of self control." ONE EXAMPLE: Just ask the men and women who go to jail because they have shaken their baby to death. It seem that they just could not stand to hear it crying anymore. . .

cptodd

@drive90:

So, what you're saying is, because you can do it safely, then everyone is able to do it safely? There shouldn't be a law passed because you don't like it?

And, just for the record, the problem isn't what happens when YOU crash and burn. The law and people have no problem with idiots that have suicidal behavior. The law is passed to prevent you from hurting other people when you crash and burn. If you run into a tree while texting and driving, nobody cares, but if you hurt other people while doing it, that makes you a felon (or murderer).

taniquetil

I have a large problem with how over-hyped texting-while-driving has become. I am 24 years old and have been texting and driving since my cell phone could do it (7-ish years). If, as they say, it were as dangerous as drinking while driving don't you think I would have crashed and burned already? I mean if I had gone out and tossed back a few every time before I got in the car it is pretty well assured I would have.

It is in my small opinion that some are more naturally suited to multitasking and in turn texting/talking/changing radio stations while driving than others. I text while driving, and will continue to do so, until it is illegal in my state. I am very selective as to when I do and know the stiuations where it is beyond my multitasking abilites.

drive90

@RichasB: That doesn't make sense? It's one thing to disagree with it, but if it doesn't make sense that's just sad. So you want the government to twist and turn just for you? Did the person you vote for not get elected by chance? Don't cry about it. Right, you don't like paying taxes. TAXES ARE BAD, ME WANT MY MONEYS

Brett Benedict

I admit it is dangerous but I am also guilty of it sometimes.

tranzparentl

might as well knock over a bank or something, might get off lighter

15 yrs would definitely fit a crime if someone was to die or get seriously hurt, for a crash where people walk out of it unharmed maybe a high fine or up to a year in jail sounds more reasonable.

The problems is that not everyone is a multitasker, people cant stay focus to all the things they are doing. Its still dangerous to try and do other things while driving. But some people can manage, most cant.
Drinking is an example, Im sure the reason they use 2 drinks as the limit is because most people can handle that. Some people may be able to handle 3 or maybe 4 drinks, but most cant, which im sure its why they use 2 as the limit.

I myself can't handle texting/driving. I have tried a few times and can't do it, which is why I don't. Remember, that when driving you don't just have to be careful how you drive, but you also have to be on the lookout for the other drivers. I managed to get out of a few accidents in the past because I was paying attention to my surroundings. Something I couldn't do if I was texting or reading, eating whatever. Just saying...

jncarlos

@RichasB: At least attempt comprehension before commenting. So far (at least in this topic) you have displayed a shocking lack insight and intellect and it shows how little you attempt to understand the world around you.

Final point, as one of the grammar nazis that you so despise. Gal would be slang for girl. Not gentleman. Our future leaders or the world, right here folks.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@zmnatz: I don't think so. While there is a stigma against drinking and driving, people are cavalier about texting. The point of a law like this is to target texting specifically in order to create a stigma and change public mindset in order to discourage texting and driving.

@Barion:
OK obviously if you're killing someone on purpose that's murder and not the point of this law.
But arguably it's better to have a smaller punishment but better enforcement since the likelihood of people committing a crime is actually much more related to how likely they are to get caught and not the harshness of the punishment.
That's why people still rob and mug and rape, because the harsh punishments don't mean anything if they can get away with it.
Whereas if every single time you texted someone you got slapped with a $200 fine you'd probably stop texting real quick.
Because even if a few idiots get slapped with 15 year sentences most people don't think it'll ever happen to them since you never think that you're the sh*tty driver that's going to kill someone.
And there's even the studies to prove it:
[www.informationweek.com]
Seriously though, enforcing the law is the issue since if anybody actually killed anybody texting it's pretty likely that they'd stop doing it since they're already haunted by the guilt forever. So it's much more important to prevent people from killing someone by actually catching them texting, not locking them up forever after the fact since those long prison terms don't stop people from committing any of the other heinous crimes out there either.

tekdemon

I don't get how people can text while driving. One hand is for holding my taco bell while the other carefully puts hot sauce on it. Luckily, no 15 year penalty for decorating tacos while driving.

andsowouldi

@slabbius: Killing someone as a result of texting while driving is not an honest mistake.

An honest mistake that might lead to someone's death while driving is overreacting to a situation on the road, like swerving to avoid one accident and inadvertently causing another.

@WilburCachu: Whether it was a mistake or not, taking the life of another human being should be punished severely. 15 years is about right for accidentally killing someone due to negligence. Doing it on purpose warrants life in prison. Doing it on purpose more than once warrants the death penalty. If that's barbaric to you, so be it.

dumbass fools are dumbass fools and deserve to pay for their dumbassedness. you don't see people running over children because they were too busy reading harry potter while driving.

AlphaUltima

@zmnatz: that's because no one gets hurt dling a shitty britney spears album. you're not gonna kill a bystander by torrenting the colbert report. if you're gonna do retarded laws just ban cell phones altogether. saves us all a lot of this specific crap. no calling, no texting, no making ringtones, no playing peggle, etc.

AlphaUltima

i think it's fair. at least drunk driving them idiots blame the alcohol. fucking texters can't blame it on the twitter.

TWO fucking SCIENTISTS! they could've cured cancer! now we'll never know!

AlphaUltima

@nathrat: I LOL'ed hard.

Now that you mention, I'd probably blow up a hospital if they gave me 15 years for texting. If I'm going to jail, let it be for something notorious....and funny.
Muahahaha (twirls mustache)

RichasB

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse:
A woman? Driving? This story is nothing but filthy lies. Go back to Fox News, you liar!
Also, if that dapper gentlemen you saw driving where to slam in to a wall, would it not be considered a gift that his family bloodline and genes are stopped? Or do you really want stupid people to survive?

And BTW, don't respond back with that baloney that he's going to slam into a school bus full of kids headed to camp, because that scenario is so played out.

RichasB

@laffmakr: Thank you Grammar Nazi, you have posted much valuable IRRELEVANT information. Also, phuck you.

RichasB

@subsider34: That's stupid as hell. If you kill someone, of course you should tried for manslaughter, but if you hit my car, just give me your insurance info because Papa needs a new rear bumper :D

RichasB

@teamlouish: Hey, as long as you don't crash, look at all the mobile porn you want ;) (look up at the road every 4 minutes to make sure you're still alive).
Seriously though, you just found a legal loop whole, you sly devil, you! :D GJ

RichasB

@spider2544: When old people learn about new technology, they usually perceive it in the stupidest way possible. I don't think anyone over the age of 32 should be allowed to pass judgment on technology or related matters.
I mean, to think that Net Neutrality should even be an issue is absurd, but unfortunelately i gotta write a letter to me crooked-ass congressman telling him not to mess with the Interwebz.

RichasB

@AlteredSpeed08: LOL You can get less time for RAPE than for TEXTING!!!! roflcopter

RichasB

@Zomb: Two people die and now everyone get's their dirty panties in twist?
Jesus Tap-Dancing Christ, you stupid humans made less of a fuss when SEVERAL BABIES DIED from being strangled from poorly designed cribs. And the best part is is that No One went to jail! Awesome!

RichasB

First of all i just want to say that i really like America. Wonderful place. But being from Europe and seeing everything that is going on in the US from an outside perspective, i have to say that when i come to your judicial system you have a lot to learn. I am not just talking about this article in particular. Every single industrial country has actually been able to figure out that "intent" is a large part of how you judge someone. Of course any person causing another persons death because of reckless driving should be held accountable. But to throw someone in jail for fifteen over a mistake, albeit a stupid one, is just barbaric.

I think, having lived in both the US and Europe, that we in Europe, believe it or not, are getting better coverage of what is going on in the US politically than Americans get. I really hope you guys start to make demands to you government soon. Go on strike, protest, anything. Just stop believing and start being skeptical. Ask uncomfortable questions. Trust me it works in the long run.

Anyway. Hope i didn't come of as anti-American. I'm not.

Cheers!

WilburCachu

@Brett Benedict: That doesn't make any sense. My elected officials are supposed to REPRESENT ME!!!!, and the last time I check I didn't like paying taxes. Nice representation, right?

RichasB

@Weet: South Florida, one of the top three most corrupt cities in the US, where it feels good to pay for the mayor's Mercedes.

RichasB

@paintedangel: I LOL'ed!!! :D

RichasB

@Software_Goddess: I'll be the big man and confess that I Have texted while driving, and with the aid of some mysterious pagan magic, I am still alive. And if that doesn't piss you off, know that I also drive a stick shift. I'm a baby killer on wheels 8-)

Seriously though, if the Utah courts pass a law about texting, it doesn't mean texting is a huge problem, it means that Utah has some crappy court system that puts texting first instead of mortgage/economy crisis.

And yes, try not to text while driving, unless of course that really hot chic/boy you like texts you, then it's all good :D

RichasB

@rt100 Penn State: text messaging w/ a dumb phone and t9 only requires one hand. i used to do it w/o having to look down at the screen but can't do the same thing w/ a touchscreen or a qwerty. and for some reason, iphone users can do it w/ one hand. also, if being distracted from driving is the problem, then (as other commenters have said) other distractions should be made illegal as well. talking w/ a headset is just as distracting as holding the phone or text messaging but is explicitly legal (at least in ny)

@BasicBlack: You obviously haven't been following the news, where the officers are pulling the phone logs on every damn traffic accident that's been happening as of late.

ltethe

@appletoad: Punishment should fit the crime. Permanent revocation of license would make more sense if we want to be draconian.

ltethe

[ut.zerofatalities.com]

jvdb

I smell an Aaron Eckhart movie.

kangaroo

Although I must say I agree with a strict punishment for those texting while driving, I feel that 15 years in prison is a bit excessive. As human beings we all make mistakes; we all have good days and bad days.

I could provide countless examples for and against this argument, but that wouldn't accomplish anything. I'd much rather talk about the LACK of punishment for violent offenders. Taking the life of a person is a very serious offense, regardless if it is involuntary manslaughter or murder. The difference is that when driving we are already presented with numerous distractions. Traffic accidents are called that for a good reason: they are accidents.

Now, I am not justifying texting, drinking, or any other activity that further distracts you from guiding your two-ton death machine on the road each day. I am simply saying that we are all guilty of being distracted while on the road, whether it be the singing along to the radio, gazing at the hot rod that just drove by, or thinking about the crappy day we've had. These are very REAL distractions that don't require our hands to be removed to from the steering wheel, but can still have detrimental effects on our ability to drive.

I know a lot of you folks feel that 15 years isn't enough, especially if someone's life has been lost, but you must still remember one thing: we are all humans and as humans we make mistakes. Imagine being locked away for 15 years of your life for an honest mistake. There are murders and rapists who serve far less than 15 years, and they had the intent to be violent. To say that someone had the intent to hurt someone while driving and texting is outright ludicrous.

Please don't categorize dumb decisions with murder and rape.

@dark_quota: *texting is worse than drunk driving

lol, I need to go to bed.

dark_quota

@dark_quota: Also, I agree nobody should text while driving, but the original poster seems to think that drinking and driving is worse while they're both just as bad as each other imo.

dark_quota

@rt100 Penn State: Whoa, whoa, whoa, who said I text when I drive. I don't even have a cell phone lol. And if you read, "Granted an accident can happen in a second while looking at your phone, but that's why I think both are on par with each other," you would know we're on the same page.

dark_quota

@3Djesus:

That's all rather tragic, but nevertheless, you should not have to go to PRISON for fifteen years for rear-ending someone while texting.

people get in crashes while texting because they either cannot multi-task, or because they have little self control. Texting is not what's killing people.

ReconToaster.

@spider2544:

I agree. This is similar to the idea that video games cause obesity. Video games are not to blame. Obesity, in such cases, is caused by a 'sedentary lifestyle.' You might as well just ban couches and books because they can be 'abused' just as well.

ReconToaster.

I think my Dad would just get rid of texting altogether and then say something like

"texting is privilege not a right"

Lincolnsbeard33

@appletoad:
"wreckless" means without wrecks.
"reckless" means in an unsafe manner.

laffmakr

@Platypus Man: exactly and if he is insane he can't be put in prison.

Lincolnsbeard33

so if im typing on my GPS thats totaly cool?

or eating a taco thats fine too?
or reading the news paper?
shaving?
or doing my make up? (hey i like to look nice for the ladys don't ask)
or hitting my stupid fighting kids in the back seat?
or reading a map?
or changing radio station?

yea texting is dangerous, but why not just have a fucking law that says if your "Distracted while driving" people do a ton of dumb shit on the road while driving it doesn't make the roads any safer by just limiting texting.

id love to see some of the statistics from crashes to see if there's been a spike in crashes that correlates to the number of text messages sent.

spider2544

@MBPsadly: Yah... lets not add any more!

DON'T text wile driving!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Software_Goddess

Good I say, The guy I buy my cigarettes from has a mother-in-law who is now paralyzed from the waist down because some chick couldn't pull herself from texting.

3Djesus

@d4rlp3nc1l: In missouri its okay according to law if you are over 21. If they pull you over for looking under 21 and texting do you get to sue for age profiling? If they pull you over on false premise and find weed is it admissible in court since they didn't have probable cause to pull you over?

Russell Lynn

@QAdam: i agree for the most part, but when you say "have licenses cost 200 a year" then you say "the majority of accident makers", it sounds like you're lumping lower-income people together into an accident-causing group. I disagree. though that's maybe not what you meant...

@dark_quota: but for that one second that you are texting, your entire brain is turned away from driving. Whether drinking and driving or texting whilst driving, killing somebody = they're dead. And it's you're responsibility. Don't text, even if you're "good at it". You're not. So far, you've just been lucky

This is stupid. Yes, driving and texting is wreckless, and that is why there is a crime called... you guessed it! Wreckless driving! If you are texting and you kill someone with your car, yes, otherwise, this is just an oversensationalized crock of shit. I was texting and driving 5 years ago and nobody gave a shit. Now it is like OMG. C'mon people. Yeah, it is dumb to do, but people get in crashes and die when eating in the car, having a drink, changing the CD/radio, adjusting mirrors, having heart attacks, talking, and even watching the road!

@Weihovah: what? no. that would require two hands on the phone (and none on the wheel). It's not so much that their eyes are distracted from the road, but that their brain is distracted from what it should be focusing on. DRIVING. When you drive, please, only drive.

@MBPsadly: do you understand what they do? they KILL people. texting while driving is the same, or worse than, driving drunk. Not good. if your family member was crossing the street in a cross walk and some idiot blows a red light and fatally wounds the relative, and it turns out they were twiddling their thumbs and OMG MY BFF JILL-ing their idiot friends, how angry would you get? how stupid does somebody have to be to do this? They feel invincible and falsely in control.

Hey. When you do this, and you look down to type out a message, and when you look up and nothing has jumped out in front of you or anything, that's luck. Don't play with luck, you're going to get burned sometime.

Where is the dropped frenchfry law? What about the dropped my cigarette law? Or the adjusting the thermostat/changing the radio station law? Maybe the putting makeup on or shaving on the way to work law? Or you cant talk to anyone in the car law?

My point being that we already have laws about remaining in control of your vehicle. If you don't maintain control and get into an accident and kill someone. It is still manslaughter and a ticket.

DUI Laws are different and I agree with them, but a texting law is unnecessary. Missouri is even worse as it only applies to those under 21 years old, as if you are perfectly capable of texting and driving just because you are old enough to drink and drive.

texting and driving is stupid but no worse than any other bad choice people make while driving.

Russell Lynn

@linky182: well a 6-way call with all your wives isn't really possible, is it?

@nathrat: Dude, if you kill someone, you'll be in jail for a lot longer than 15 years. Killing someone in response for that makes you... criminally insane?

Platypus Man

@zmnatz: Oh really? If you text and get into a wreck in Utah, you are going to jail.

So whether you decide to avoid going to jail by not texting or are deterred from further incidents and damage to others by your incarceration, it IS a deterent.

Walljasper

YES! Texting while driving IS tantamount to driving while intoxicated. The impairment may easily lead to the serious injury or death of the texter and innocent victims.

Thank you, Utah.

/watched the wrist slapping of cellphone users and texters in California and have been struck by 2 texters in the past 7 months. ENOUGH.

Walljasper

@sqeakytoy of the apocalypse: I don't text and drive, but 15 years is bs

@switchblade saints: I totally agree with zmnatz. You come off as a fool in this conversation. "What about the children?!" Give me a break. A lot of things end up killing children that were mistakes. Let's not throw reckless laws on the books because it "Hurts children"

MBPsadly

@Software_Goddess: So someone checks their cell phone, kills someone you wouldn't mind them getting life? Really?! Are you that morbid that someones doing something, although dumb, means taking a tax payer off the streets and throwing them in jail for life? No. The reason we have so many people in jail as it is is stupid laws with sentences that don't fit the crimes, lets not add anymore.

MBPsadly

@quasimod: Que? Billboards? zmnatz confused. As my avatar would say, don't make zmnatz angry, you wouldn't like zmnatz when he's angry.

@Sicpup: Well, last I checked playing poker while driving is not illegal. So based on the logic of the guys passing this law, she shouldn't be punished.

@i38warhawk: Examining phone records... gee that was hard to figure out...erase all you want the carrier still has a permanent record.

paintedangel

Just last week, I saw a gal, maybe 20-21, smoking a cigarette with one hand, texting away with the other. Doing 70 (in a 55, not interstate, but something like a rural four lane), weaving all over the place. Best part of the whole thing was the 2 year old in the back seat. You know, it's one ting to take your own life, but to completely disregard the lives of everyone else on the road, and even flesh and blood of your own creation shows a level of contempt for human life I find criminal. Yes she needs to go to jail. Yes, she needs to lose possession of her child before she can kill it. Yes, I agree that texting while driving should be treated as reckless endangerment. end of story

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@zmnatz: Hey, hey, I don't think "perspective" is allowed in this thread, buddy! And stop reading those billboards, too!

quasimod

@RichasB: Who you ask? My sister and my best friend were both killed by drivers who were texting. Thats who asshat.

paintedangel

@teamlouish: You are still distracted...put the phone down moron!

paintedangel

@d4rlp3nc1l: Hopefully.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@Josh_Geyer: lets get him an auto, and see if he will play Russian roulette

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@Heman: Its because texting while driving is so much more common than these other things people are throwing out. Drive almost anywhere during rush hour and see how many idiots are texting as opposed to how many are having sex, shooting guns out the window or whatever. The last time I drove in traffic I was amazed at how many people were texting while driving. And I am sure the more extreme punishments are for those who injure or kill others while doing this oh so stupid act just as it is for drunk driving...you are not going to be sentenced to 15 years unless you hurt or kill someone or are a hardcore repeat offender just as it should be.

paintedangel

@switchblade saints: If we are lucky, we can reed about it hear.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@nathrat: then don't text while driving. Odds are you will kill the next living thing you see when you do.

Problem solved.

sqeakytoy of the apocalypse

@greasypigarvin: I respectfully disagree. When you go out to "get drunk" you should always make preparations to stop yourself from driving by either having a DD, giving your keys to the bartender, etc... You should know that alcohol will impair your judgment and should make sure that you prepare beforehand in order to not let your judgment make a completely stupid decision.

I have no respect for people who drink and drive and at least when you're texting, it doesn't affect you throughout your whole drive. You can stop looking at a phone, you can't stop being intoxicated. Granted an accident can happen in a second while looking at your phone, but that's why I think both are on par with each other.

dark_quota

@RichasB: Those two scientists are not the only ones who have been killed by this either, not to mention all the injuries that have likely resulted.

Oh...and how's the DOW been doing recently?

dclamster

I would run to the nearest living thing and kill it if I was given 15 years for texting while driving.

Wow, I was just watching THAT episode of the Simpsons. Nice lol

NeoXY

@dark_quota: A person who goes out to get drunk might not have been planning to drive home, but the alcohol impairs his judgment after he's gotten drunk.

The texter is sober the entire time they decide to text.

@d4rlp3nc1l: One can argue that a drunk driver wasn't thinking clearly when they chose to drive drunk, and they get jail time.

A sober person who chooses to do something equally as dangerous (if the data was correct) could be considered more heinous because it shows willful negligence.

@Husher: If data shows it's as impairing as driving drunk, then it should be just as bad punishment, especially since your judgment is not impaired when you choose to text... you are making a lucid decision to do something that's dangerous to other drivers.

People in Utah can text?

linky182

@OmegaVader:
second.
15 years sounds as retarded.

Husher

@Whytookay - Pro Skub:

LOL!

iatacs19

Texting whilst driving is should definitely be illegal, but 15 years is an obscene punishment. Part of the reason this country is going broke is because of how many people we put in prison.

OmegaVader

@Zomb: They just have to lump texting and everything else not in the rule book into reckless driving. ie, no firing guns while driving. That pretty much solve it.

Heman

@se.blackheart: you mean sister...

@se.blackheart: I lol'd

@switchblade saints: I can definitely see your point and it's a good one. Do not misread my comments for someone who thinks people should text while driving. My point is simply that its more important to strengthen laws against reckless driving than create a law that singles out one behavior. People eat, drink, talk, shave, have sex, etc ... while driving. These are all distracting. Why not just make the punishment more severe across the board. Isn't that a better way to deter people from these distracting actions like driving; knowing that they can get a severe punishment for being horrible drivers.

@RichasB: You have representation. vote for someone who won't raise taxes and if most of the state votes for higher taxes oh well. Majority wins go live somewhere else if you don't like it.

If you lived in washington D.C. or some other place w/o representation unlike florida i could understand your complaint.

If you read the article it says two scientists died and thats why this law was created. Why these people can't be subject of the news article between hundreds of articles about taxes is beyond and makes you look like a Jerk.

Zomb

I saw the headline on my feed and all it said was "Utah now punishes..." and I thought 'so what else is new'?

@crsrc: His point is that there are plenty of just as dangerous things to do while driving and if they severely punish reckless driving overall instead specifying every single instance that is reckless you can save more lives by not having to rewrite the law everytime new instance comes or keep people from looking for loopholes that aren't explicitly stated in the law.

Zomb

@RichasB: If your taxes are being raised, it's because your elected officials voted on it. There is your representation.

Brett Benedict

@xBawBx: And you lose your phone for a year, but they'll give you a replacement you can use on your way to school and/or work.

Brett Benedict

@teamlouish: Not typing anything? I really, really hope you're joking. If so, hilarious, if not...yikes.

Brett Benedict

@zmnatz: they actually lost their lives because they were hit by a person that was texting and driving.

I was speaking to the kids that died in Denver last year, and their families.

@zmnatz: and if you are on a bus? or train? or a passenger?

@zmnatz: You are looking at this the wrong way. The point of this law, just like laws against driving under the influence are to prevent accidents, not punish people after it's too late.

The fact is texting while driving is dangerous and if there weren't a law about it people would do it more and more people would die.

crsrc

I dont see this as a problem in Utah, just have one of your wives text for you while you drive.

@switchblade saints: Steep sentence will not deter anyone. Look at the civil penalties for file sharing. Sharing a $1 song nets you 30k+ in damages yet people still do it. A better approach would be to change the technology itself. Cell phones all got GPS in them right. Make something that shuts off texting if the phone is going over 20 mph.

@switchblade saints: They lost kids because the driver was driving recklessly, not because the driver was texting.

@switchblade saints: Not to play devil's advocate or anything, but were you walking in a cross walk? I know when I'm crossing a street I tend to wait for the 3000 lb piece of metal to acknowledge me and slow down before I jump in front of it. Was there a stop sign and the guy ran it? If so, the running the stop sign thing is a bigger issue to me.

Just saying, I've lived in city environments with tons of cars and people walking everywhere and definitely seen people texting while driving. I put a certain effort to make sure I don't walk in front of a car without some acknowledgment that the driver sees me.

@Weihovah: shoot him.

How about we just make laws for reckless driving more severe. Why do we keep singling out texting while driving? So it's okay to have sex while driving but not okay to send a quick SMS? If we start explicitly saying each and every thing we can't do while driving, people will get the idea that it's okay to do anything not listed.

If the issue is that people are driving recklessly while texting, isn't it better to punish the reckless driving that the texting? If I'm stopped at a red light, why can't I shoot off a quick text. That's certainly safer than having an extended conversation while driving isn't it?

Rant over.

I think it'd be great to charge as recless driving- carry the same fines and points as well. But my wife just got busted for playing poker on her blackberry while stuck in traffic. I can't wait to hear her fight this one in court- and she will.

@ploopsy: Guilty as charged, sir.

@RichasB: Perhaps the extreme case would be a serial - texting while driving - killer?

@BasicBlack: I find you guilty of being a weirdo that actually notices this.

I can only edit for 10 minutes anyway.

ploopsy

@ploopsy: I find you guilty of abusing the edit function, my little revisionist historian.

@RichasB: Where are taxes being raised without representation?

Weet

@teamlouish: thinning the heard.

Nice how things work themselves out

@ploopsy: well, In Denver they had an survey showing how almost 50% of all teens text and drive. Now, I am not sure how reliable the study is but show me that high of a percentage for running red lights and I'm on board for 15 years as well.

Bottom line, its dangerous. I think a steep sentence will be the only deterrent for people IMHO.

@ploopsy: Yeha cos man when I was ridin dirty, textin with ma iphones back in 620bc wed get 15 years in prison!

this law is way too draconian

@xBawBx: Will it become common practice to subpoena those records whenever there is a major accident? Can you show probable cause for that warrant? It's a pretty law, but very difficult to enforce.

I live in Utah, and im reading this on my phone while driving... Does reading a web site count as texting? Im not typing anything.

@Mr_Human: Actually, only a crash is necessary to get 15 years. No injury to any party is required.

@i38warhawk: Dude......Carriers carry logs of all texts and phone calls made and the time they were made.

xBawBx

@ploopsy: The punishment is for harming someone while texting and driving, not for just texting. It's no different than charging someone for vehicular homicide when they kill someone while speeding. It's just trendier.

So do you get up to 30 years for drunk texting and driving?

xBawBx

@switchblade saints: In that case, why dont we also throw people in jail for 15 years if they speed or run the red? Speeding and red light running also kill a bunch of people.

Im not saying that we should not punish them. There is allot of other stuff that will still teach them a lesson like suspend there license and or plate or even crush there car. Not if they crash, just if they are caught texting while driving. Then they will text less and crash less. A stiffer penalty should be given to anyone that winds up killing or hurting others really bad. Tossing people in jail for 15 years after a small crash seems a little bit to harsh. Maybe a voided license and a harsh fine is a better idea.

There are people who commit homicides and assaults who spend less than 15 years in jail.

ploopsy

@i38warhawk:
I was thinking the same thing. It's also possible that the passenger was using your phone to text while you were driving. If an eyewitness claims they saw the driver carrying a phone like device, and the cops look at the texting records on the phone bill, the driver can unfairly get punished... I just think it's too hard to prove that someone was texting and there could be innocent people going to jail.

Cool!

@RichasB: Yes, your money is far more more important than human life. Gizmodo's priorities are way out of whack on this one.

Ok, so the title's not exactly accurate. You don't get 15 yrs for being caught texting while driving, but hurting or killing someone while doing it.

Mr_Human

@AlteredSpeed08: I really hope that was sarcasm...

@Weihovah: They would pay out less.

@RichasB: You have access to Google and common sense. This kind of hyperbole diminishes your own argument more than his.

@RichasB: Had you read the link you would know that an extreem case is one in wich the Texter KILLS someone. Give the jerk LIFE for all I care; he took someones LIFE away.

Software_Goddess

@zobayan: death

qbxk

@Novenus: texting and driving is in the news all the time now so it's popular for politicians to go after it. yea, it's tragic when someone dies in an accident caused by txt messaging but accidents caused by people playing w/ mp3 players or gps or the one you described are just as tragic

having said that, legalizing text messaging could make it less deadly since the driver could hold the phone higher and keep his eyes on the road rather than hiding the phone and looking down. then the problem would be dividing the drivers attention

Who's actually died from texting and why is this trivial issue more important than the current outrage of almost every state raising taxes without fair representation? Where the hell is money they already taken going??? I go to Manhanttan and they tell me they just raised taxes, I go back to Florida and they now want a 20% increease?!?! WTF?

RichasB

There are going be be very few convictions for this. First of all how is it going to be proven that the defendant was texting. IF a text was send seconds before an accident then it might be possible but any smart text-driver would erase the message they were typing. it's then just a normal accident. If a drunk driver is in an accident the athorities can do a BAC test. What's the test for texting and driving?

@switchblade saints: Who has lost kids to texting? Give me names and cite cases otherwise you're just talking nonsense.

I can counter argue that texting saves lives of premature babies without proof, too.

RichasB

@AlteredSpeed08: It's no different than carrying a loaded weapon...*

@Software_Goddess: and what qualifies as an "extreme case"? Perhaps the judge will give you 5 years per vowel or the full 15 years for picture texting? Out of control government is out of control.

RichasB

Every state should follow Utah here. You are intentionally putting everyone around you at risk, it's different than carrying a loaded weapon in public or running through the shopping mall with a chainsaw. Texting while driving should be seen a a severe criminal defense by all states.

wow really, so were saying that texting is worse than drinking and driving.

is there going to be a no tolerance law for drivers under 21.

between giz, kotaku and jalopnik i read a lot of stuff from utah. man, what a great state to live in ahahaha! we're crazy but you can't help but love us ahahah

I agree 100% with this law.
I want to see my own state enact tougher laws... I want to see 5 year suspension of your license for driving while texting or driving under the influence. And mandatory minimum sentencing for causing a crash because of one of these.

kzooguy

how about texting while driving drunk?

zobayan

@zlo2: That’s just the max, it won’t be used except in extreem cases.

Software_Goddess

@vinnyr: if someone cuts you off, would you rather rant about it on twitter or shoot him?

@QAdam: it's much too easy to get a license in this country but if everyone were better drivers, insurance companies would make less money

@Xterm11: ESCAPED YOUR HYPERLINK:
You should know you've been drinking and you should know the danger of drunk driving. I think they both are on par with each other.

dark_quota

So let me get this straight, In utah, its legal to have a handgun in my hand while I drive, but its illegal to hold a cell phone when I drive? WTF!

@ploopsy: tell that to the families that lost kids because of this

15 years? That's crazy!
Where I come from people get less for murder.

This type of punishment should be meted out to all forms of electronic devices, not just texting. I mean it's a start, but things like iPods/MP3 players, etc, are distracting people from what they should be doing -- driving.

I'm still upset about the young woman who ran over two pedestrians (killing one) without realizing it, until her car hit the side of a hospital because she was fumbling with her iPod to notice her car had gone out of control. Ugh.

Novenus

@Xterm11: ESCAPED YOUR HYPERLINK: That's not true. Before you get drunk you know exactly what you are doing and have hence set yourself up for driving drunk. There is no excuse for it.

@ploopsy: When you drive drunk, you made a poor decision and created a dangerous situation. When you text while driving, you made a poor decision and created a dangerous situation. Now in which one was it your inherent, non-chemically altered decision making ability creating the dangerous situation?

cabjf

@Xterm11: I have to agree with you on this one. Heck it's practically intentional if they hurt someone.

Software_Goddess

Utah is just pleased that it can finally pass a law against writing.

The punishment needs to be more severe. When drunk, you don't make logical decisions, and don't think you're drunk when you drive. Texting on the other hand, is a decision you make. I'm not saying you are not responsible for drunk driving -- you are the one who got drunk -- but texting while driving is worse. You know you are texting, and you know the danger you are putting yourself and others in.

Xterm11: ESCAPED YOUR HYPERLINK

i still think we should punish people worse who get into wrecks that dont have an excuse like being drunk or texting...i mean if you can cause the same crash when you should be OK to drive, should you ever be allowed to drive? Its funny, to see texting laws, because they are easy to pass and they dont piss people off. like a law that makes people retest every 3 years, or have licenses cost 200 a year, or make the elderly test every 6 months.....no one wants to attack the majority of accident makers...those are the people that really have no business being behind the wheel

QAdam

save taxpayers money and just shoot them on the side of the road.

sorry, almost got hit walking across the street due to someone texting yesterday. I am still a little irritated.

This law is too draconian. I never text while driving but I still think its really harsh.

ploopsy

Seems fair. Texting while driving is as dangerous as driving impaired. Prevention is better than lost of lives. Just pull over if you really can't wait to text.

Firebrand

I wholeheartedly agree with this law. The fact that people need to be told not to do it is scary enough. I'm glad the punishment is this harsh too. More states need to adopt it.

Szin