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If A Distracted-Driving Law Falls In The Forest And No One Is There To Enforce It, Is It Illegal?

By  Lisa Brenner
Published Sep 21, 2010 11:00 PM
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Photo by Lord Jim via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr


Photo by Lord Jim via LAist Featured Photos on Flickr
Laws without enforcement are being ignored like a roast turkey at a vegan Thanksgiving. That's the startlingly 'duh' news out of Virginia about distracted-driver legislation following a federally funded crackdown in New York and Connecticut, and a roadside survey in Southern California.

Tuesday was U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood's second Distracted Driving Summit -- a national meeting of transportation experts, safety advocates and police.

Instances in Southern California of texting while driving have doubled in the past 19 months, and distracted driving accounted for nearly 5500 deaths in the US last year.

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Eight states, including California, currently ban the use of handheld cellphones while driving, and 30 states officially prohibit texting while driving.