Ninety-five years ago when windshield wiper blades were invented, people feared they would pose a danger for drivers who would be hypnotized by the back-and-forth motion of the blades.
They had no idea what was coming.
These days, it isn’t unusual to see drivers busily tapping away on their Blackberries or cell phones, but those living in or passing through Schenectady County will want to refrain from texting while driving if a proposed law banning such activities passes the County Legislature.
On Thursday, Oct. 23, chairwoman of the Schenectady County Legislature Susan Savage, D-Niskayuna, proposed the law, which would ban text messaging while driving. If passed, offenders could face fines as early as December.
`We want to put something in place before one of these communities has a fatality,` said Savage.
County lawmakers said they hope the legislation would raise awareness among drivers about the hazards of driving while text messaging.
`Before the New York state seatbelt law, most drivers knew it was a good idea to wear one, but only 17 percent of drivers were motivated to change their old habits,` said Savage in a written statement. `Now, 89 percent of drivers in New York state wear their seatbelts.`
This proposed law comes in the wake of a reports of a growing number of accidents related to text messaging while driving motor vehicles, and in the case of the deadly commuter rail crash in Los Angeles — while operating a train. In June 2007, five Upstate teens died in a car crash. Authorities ruled that the cause of the crash was most likely due to the driver text messaging.
`I definitely feel texting is very dangerous to do while driving. It contributes to driver inattention, and is quite trendy,` said Schenectady County Sheriff Harry Buffardi. `I think that any law to prohibit [cell phone text messaging and driving] would be useful.`
A 2006 study by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute found that nearly 80 percent of accidents, along with 65 percent of near-accidents, involved some form of driver distraction within three seconds. According to a AAA survey that was featured in Seventeen magazine, 47 percent of teens admitted to text messaging and driving. Research conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company has shown that 20 percent of drivers are sending and receiving text messages while driving, and Zogby found that 66 percent of those drivers are young — between the ages of 18 and 24.
`Even among people who do [text and drive], they think there should be a law against it,` said Savage.
Schenectady County is joining a growing number of regions to propose laws that prohibit text messaging and driving. Monroe County recently proposed a ban, and Westchester and Suffolk counties have passed bans. Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington state have all passed statewide bans.
`It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. [The ban] could be enacted as soon as December,` said Savage.
Offenders would be fined $150, according to Buffardi.
`I would like to see the state adopt a law that had to do with driver inattention, which would apply to other things. I think it’s just as dangerous for someone to apply their makeup or shave or try to read the newspaper as it is to talk on the telephone [while driving],` said Buffardi. `If there was a driver inattention law enacted, it would be useful, but I’m glad the County Legislature stepped up to the plate with this.“