Arlington bans texting while driving

The average texter is wrapped up in the digital world of texting whether at work, class or driving.

On Sept. 13, Arlington passed an ordinance that bans texting while driving anywhere on city streets. The ban is in the early stages of development and the Arlington Police Department is informing the public before the law is set to take effect in November.

"The chief of police, Theron Bowman, Ph.D., participated in a public service announcement with the Texas Rangers to ‘Keep your thumbs on the wheel.' The announcement was one of many ways to make the public aware of the new city ordinance," said Tiara Richard, media relations coordinator for the Arlington Police Department.

To enforce the ordinance, officers will be looking to see if  drivers are being distracted for an amount of time and if so, they will stop    drivers to identify the cause for suspicion.

Officers will use their judgment to determine if any offense occurred due to inattentiveness. Richard also said that drivers often admit they were distracted because they were texting.

Although drivers may be using the phone to find directions, listen to music or anything other than texting, they still can be pulled over by the police. The ordinance only allows drivers to use their phone to place or receive a call.

Besides the phone, other devices such as a GPS or MP3 player that are used while driving could seem suspicious to officers since they can also be a distraction.  As a result, drivers may be pulled over even though not texting.

Officers will follow standard procedures for the law in these situations to determine whether citations will be given.

According to the U.S. Department of Transportation in 2009, 20 percent of accidents occurred because the driver was distracted.

"Out of the percent for distracted accidents, 5 percent were caused by cell phones," said Richard.

That's 1 percent overall.

With each violation officers will write a $200 citation.  As with any other ticket, the driver may appeal.

The Arlington Police Department and city council passed the ban to support the continuing campaign against texting while driving. The police department plans to continue increasing public awareness about the ban to make sure that the locals understand the ordinance.

At this time there is no set date for the policy's implementation, but according to Richard, they plan to begin sometime around Thanksgiving.

Information about the ban details of will be posted in the next two months at arlingtonpd.org and on the city council website.