Florida Bans Texting While Driving

In late May 2013, Florida Governor Rick Scott signed into law the Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law. The law prohibits the operation of a motor vehicle while manually typing or entering multiple letters, numbers, symbols or other text in a handheld wireless communication device, or sending or reading data in the device, for the purpose of non-voice interpersonal communication. The law makes exceptions for emergency workers performing official duties, reporting emergencies or suspicious activities and for receiving various types of navigation information, emergency traffic data, radio broadcasts and autonomous vehicles. The law also makes an exception for interpersonal communications that can be conducted without manually typing the message or without reading the message.

The prohibition is enforceable as a secondary offense. If law enforcement officers catch people texting while driving, they cannot pull them over. A secondary offense means that, in order to be stopped, the offender first must be caught committing another type of driving infraction. A first violation is punishable as a nonmoving violation, with a fine of $30 plus court costs that vary by county. A second violation committed within five years after the first is a moving violation punishable by a $60 fine plus court costs. The law allows for the admissibility of a person’s wireless communications device billing records as evidence in the event of a crash resulting in death or personal injury.

In addition to the fines, a violation of the unlawful use of a cell phone that results in a crash will result in six points added to the offender’s driver license record, and the unlawful use of a cell phone while committing a moving violation within a school safety zone will result in two points added to the offender’s driver license record in addition to the points for the moving violation.

These provisions take effect October 1, 2013.