Today marks six months since Maryland’s Cell Phone Law went into effect. The law, effective as of October 1, 2010, prohibits all drivers in Maryland from using a cell phone without a hands free device while operating a motor vehicle. The fine for a first-time offender is $40 and subsequent offenses carry a $100 fine and one point. Maryland drivers are being put on notice: put cell phones down. Enforcement agencies around Maryland are stepping up enforcement to prevent the consequences of distracted driving crashes including needless injuries and deaths.
“It takes just one moment of distraction to cause a serious crash,” Colonel Terrence B. Sheridan, Superintendent of the Maryland State Police said. “Keeping Maryland motorists safe is why we continue to remind them of the dangers of distracted driving and why we actively enforce the cell phone law.”
Studies repeatedly show that we are limited in the amount of information we can process at any given time. Trying to use a cell phone – for conversation or texting – forces a driver’s attention away from driving. Studies indicate that mobile phone conversations distract drivers and delay reaction time, which can cause and increase the severity of vehicular crashes. The National Safety Council estimates that cell phone use is responsible for 1.6 million crashes a year, nationally — about 28 percent of all crashes. In 2009, those distracted moments accounted for 30,152injuries in Maryland.
“Dialing, texting and talking on the cell phone takes your attention away from driving. If you take your eyes off the road for just one second while traveling 65 mph, you will travel 100 feet, which could place you in a dangerous situation possibly harming yourself, as well the others with whom you share the road – pedestrians, bicyclists, construction workers,” said Maryland State Highway Administrator and Governor’s Highway Safety Representative Neil J. Pedersen.
A separate Maryland law also prohibits the use of text messaging devices to write or send text messages while operating motor vehicles except for use of a global positioning system or texting emergency services (911, etc.). “Doing anything more than focusing your full time and attention to the driving task is just plan irresponsible. Driver’s simply must make a conscious decision to put the cell phone down or pay the consequences, the least of which could possibly be a citation,” said Chief Bernie Gerst, Towson University Police Department and President of the Maryland Chiefs of Police Association.
SHA’s Distracted Driving web page includes information about distracted driving, tips for staying safe and important information about related Maryland laws.
Through the State’s Strategic Highway Safety Plan, numerous highway safety programs and public awareness campaigns such as Choose Safety for Life, SHA and its network of federal, state and local partners strive to improve safety for all travelers on all Maryland roads.
