4.6.10
Info campaign on dangers of texting to accompany ban
By: Garth Bishop - www.columbuslocalnews.com
A law banning texting while driving in Columbus will be in effect early next month, but the law is not the only way the city will try to curtail that behavior.

Columbus City Council at its Monday, April 5 meeting approved a new law making it a primary offense to send, compose or read text messages while driving. Texting while driving will be a minor misdemeanor, and a ticket would cost a maximum of $150.

The new city law goes into effect in 30 days.

Council's Public Safety Committee held a second public hearing on the issue March 30.

Texting is one of the most distracting -- and, therefore, dangerous -- things someone can do while driving, said Councilman Andrew Ginther, because it takes the driver's eyes off the road, hands off the wheel and mind off driving.

Enforcement will be a challenge, Columbus police Lt. Karl Barth said at the March 30 meeting, but if the measure can prevent even one accident caused by distracted driving, it will be worth it.

"If the fire doesn't happen, you don't have to put it out," said Robert Coles, deputy chief for the Columbus Division of Fire. "If the injury doesn't happen, you don't have to treat it."

Part of the enforcement challenge is the fact that while text messaging would be illegal, the law does not necessarily forbid behavior that would look similar to police, such as searching for a phone number. The law gives the police the right to stop a driver who appears to be texting, but it might be difficult to prove.

Information on text message history appears in phone records, and the city can get access to phone records from providers if it has probable cause, but that's not likely to happen in every case, said Seth Walker, assistant public safety director for the city.

Still, the law will figure into outreach efforts to show the public how dangerous texting while driving is, Walker said. The city can get that message out through its community liaison officers; through public-private partnerships, such as with AT&T, which has mounted a campaign against texting while driving; and through partnerships with schools, he said.

Those young audiences are the ones the city needs to reach, Walker said.

The state legislature is also considering a ban on texting while driving, but the timetable on that is uncertain.

"I do not believe we in Columbus can wait," said Ginther.

The No. 1 priority is keeping the people of Columbus safe, Ginther said, though he added it would be a positive thing were Columbus's passage of the law to have an effect on the statewide effort.

"If public policy decisions we make as a city improve public safety in other cities ... or influence the state to take a position, that's a good thing," he said.

"If the fire doesn't happen, you don't have to put it out. If the injury doesn't happen, you don't have to treat it."

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