JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Senate Judiciary Committee plans to hear legislation aiming to boost enforcement of Alaska’s texting while driving ban. It would reduce the penalty from a misdemeanor to a violation, making it possible for officers to issue citations to distracted drivers.
A spokesman with the Alaska Bureau of Highway Patrol has testified that troopers are less likely to charge someone under current law requiring proof that a driver is distracted by a screen device.
The bureau’s Lt. David Hanson says it can be difficult for a trooper to document a driver using a mobile device. He says under the current law roughly one person per month was charged with violating the law from 2012 to 2015.
According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 46 states ban texting while driving.
Reader Comments(0)