It's Official!

On January 1^st, 2010 the Wireless Communication Device law, or what is more commonly known as the no texting while driving law, came into effect for people in Illinois. Along with texting, the law also states you can’t go on the internet including E-mail, Facebook, and Google. You’re allowed to receive a text message, but you’re not allowed to open it or respond. If you’re caught with your hands on your phone instead of the wheel, fines can range anywhere from $75-$150. According to a survey conducted by Nationwide Insurance, drivers who use cell phones on the road are four times more likely to get into a serious crash. So try to resist the alluring beep of that new text message while driving. Why would you want to risk a crash for a text message that might say “Hey what’s up”? What’s up is you just got into a car crash for opening that text. That’s what’s up. Also, police are now given the right to confiscate a driver’s phone to check phone records while on the road, so that good old “What? Me? Texting? Ha!” excuse won’t work. Along with Illinois, seventeen other states have joined the ban of texting while driving: Alaska, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Louisiana, Maryland, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia, and Washington.

If your parents haven’t constantly annoyed, or what they like to call “remind” you, a thousand times to put your phone down while driving, this law may come to you as a shock. For most of us though, the inevitable has happened and it’s now finally official.