McDonnell Amends Texting Bill Soon to Become Law

By URIAH KISER

PRINCE WILLIAM COUNTY, Va. — Police in Virginia are one step closer to being able to stop you if they see you using your cell phone to text behind the wheel.

Gov. Robert F. McDonnell Tuesday amended a measure championed by Prince William County Delegate Richard Anderson that will make it a first offense to text and drive, giving police to slap higher fines of $125 for first offenders and $250 for second time offenders.

With the governor’s amendment, the first and second offense fines originally set as part of Anderson’s bill at $250 and $500, respectively, were reduced after McDonnell stepped to and amended the bill before signing he signs it into law. Subsequent offenders face fines ranging from $50 to $500.

McDonnell on Tuesday said he hopes to get more guidelines from law enforcement officials on what constitutes stopping a person when seen using their phone.

“This bill is confined to texting while driving. People can and will continue to use their phones to talk, to play tick-tack-toe… we need to have a consensus from law enforcement on when are stopped when they’re suspected to texting from their phones,” McDonnell told Potomac Local News.

A total of seven legislators from across the state submitted texting bills during this year’s General Assembly in Richmond. All were rolled into the bill put forth by Anderson, who navigated it through the legislature.

“Through the eyes of others who have lost family members to texting drivers, and my own observations while driving on a frequent and regular basis between my Prince William home and the Virginia State Capitol, I’ve seen firsthand the statewide threat posed by texters behind the wheel,” said Anderson. “I’ve seen the pain in the eyes of my Woodbridge neighbors who lost their brother to a texting driver, and my real focus has been to protect Virginia families and prevent the needless loss of life and personal injury that has resulted in the commonwealth.”

The neighbors in which Anderson refers to were two sisters from Lake Ridge who spoke with Anderson last year, following the failure of Anderson’s 2012 bill that elevated texting while driving from a secondary to a primary offense, who told them about their brother who was killed after being involved in a crash with another driver who was texting behind the wheel.