Would you quit texting and driving if it could land you in jail?

Texting and Driving = Jail Time

You’ve seen the commercials, watched the news, and seen the billboards. You know not to text and drive. According to statistics, these efforts are not stopping most people. Although the dangers may not be obvious or important to you, texting and driving could end up putting you in jail. Even reading a message can take your eyes off the road long enough for you to get into an accident or seriously injure someone. Here are a few ways that texting while operating a vehicle can land you in jail:

For federal workers and commercial drivers it is against the law to text and drive while working, and most states have a variation of that law for their citizens. In certain states, texting and driving could put you behind bars.

Negligence as a result of texting can put you in jail. What you may not consider when sending your text is that someone’s life could be over by the time you press send. If your texting while driving leads to the death of someone it is considered vehicular manslaughter.

Most people think that reckless driving won’t put you in jail unless you are under the influence. Things like texting and driving and speeding or swerving in and out of lanes is considered reckless driving and if the charges are severe enough it can put you in jail.

While you think they may not be able to prove that you were texting, if there is cause to believe you were, police can actually look up your cell phone records to show you were texting right up until the point of negligence or recklessness. If someone’s life is taken, you can expect a lot of investigation into your private life.

Considering that your life and the lives of others are at stake, make it an effort to keep your phone out of reach when driving. You do not want to be sitting in a jail cell wishing you would have paid more attention to the advertisements you heard on the radio. Make the pledge to not text and drive.

Source: FindLaw, “3 Ways Texting and Driving Could Land You in Jail,” Betty Wang, August 26 2013.