Distracted Driving Law Will Take Effect In South Carolina In September
By now, we all know about the dangers of cell phones. Their bright lights keep us awake at night. Their constant notifications distract us from work and from being emotionally present during interactions with other people. Their quick responses make us less inclined to think, and their mean-spirited content, created just to generate clicks, wears us down to the point that a social media post from a casual acquaintance can deal the deathblow to our self-esteem. Every time something that might ruin our mood happens anywhere in the world, from a mass casualty event to an instance of one D-list celebrity slighting another on social media, we find out about it instantly. How do we respond to this? Some of us try to drown our sorrows over this depressing state of affairs in more doom scrolling. Others make big plans to quit our phones cold turkey, leaving them on the charger at home all day, except once a day, when we check for messages from our family members and our employers. Some of us delete the apps that bring out our worst selves and accept the distracting notifications from news apps and work emails as an inevitable part of modern life. No matter whether you consider it harmless or dangerous to fixate on your phone while you are at home, we can all agree that fixating on your phone while driving is a disastrous idea. If you got injured in an accident where distracted driving was a contributing factor, contact a Columbia car accident lawyer.
South Carolina Takes a Stand Against Driving Under the Influence of Electronics
A law against distracted driving that is years in the making will take effect on September 1. It is called the Hands Free and Distracted Driving law, but it originally had a catchier title, namely Driving Under the Influence of Electronics. The intent behind the original name was to emphasize that cell phone distractions impair drivers at least as much as alcohol intoxication does. The News Channel Six website quoted State Representative Bill Taylor as quoting AAA as saying that distracted driving is six times more dangerous than drunk driving, although the source does not indicate how it measured this.
The law is similar to the distracted driving laws in other states. Drivers who tap their phone screens, play videos on their phones, or participate in video calls while in the driver’s seat of a car that is not parked will face fines and get two points on their driver’s license. Police will issue warnings for the first six months after the law goes into effect, and in March, they will begin issuing traffic citations for violations of the new law.
Let Us Help You Today
The personal injury lawyers at the Stanley Law Group can help you get adequate compensation after an accident involving a distracted driver. Contact The Stanley Law Group in Columbia, South Carolina or call (803)799-4700 for a free initial consultation.
Source:
wjbf.com/top-stories/new-hands-free-law-targets-distracted-driving-in-south-carolina/
