New Laws regarding teen cell phones and driving come into affect on Tuesday May 14th. The state of Utah has decided to ban all phone use for anyone under age 18 while in the driver’s seat. This ban is for any function of the phone regardless of Bluetooth and hands free instruments. The only exception being if they are communicating with a parent.
If caught a teen will need to pay $25, but no points will be placed on the diving record. This small fee is intended to be paid by the teen, not the parent. According to Republican representative Lee Perry who supported the bill. He feels that the $25 will impact the teen’s wallet just enough to teach a lesson. If this law is effective in reducing accidents among teens it is reasonable to expect that the law could be extended to all drivers.
The goal of this law is to significantly reduce the number of distractions that teen drivers are facing. According to the Center for Disease Control one in five crashes is caused by a distracted driver. The law attempts to bring the percentage of the population who claim to use their phone while driving down. The United States reports that 69% of drivers use phones, this is 10% higher percentage of the population than even the countries with the most offenders in Europe.
We support the state of Utah for finding new ways to protect our roads. If you have experienced an accident involving phone usage contact the experts at Christensen & Hymas (801)506-0800.
Original article and photo from Deseret News