Anthony Richard, an 11th grader with Enloe High, tries to maneuver a golf cart while texting. The N.C. Highway Patrol officers visited the school Thursday to teach teenage drivers about the dangers of texting while driving. On Dec. 1 a law banning texting while driving takes effect. News & Observer staff photo by Takaaki Iwabu.

The state Department of Transportation just announced that it will offer traffic updates on its Twitter page.

So how long before people start getting cited under the new texting while driving ban because they were checking for traffic information?

Dome can picture it now: "I'm sorry officer, the DOT made me do it."

Mindful of this potential, the department's news release trumpeting the new Twitter updates encourages travellers to check alerts before they leave home.

"The goal of this high-tech initiative is to help people 'know before you go,'" Transportation Secretary Gene Conti said in a news release.

The updates are surprisingly specific. Here's a recent post from the Triangle-area feed. 

1:57 PM, US-70 W,Boiling St: Traffic is traveling at 22 MPH at: US 70 BUS W; MM 94.4; Boiling St

For those who don't use Twitter, the department has posted instructions on how to sign up for an account and use the traffic feeds.

U.S. Sen. Kay Hagan helped introduce a bill today that would prohibit texting while driving – though she admitted to reporters that she’s done it before.

“I bet everyone here has texted, and we all realize it’s dangerous,” Hagan said during a news conference on the bill, reports Barb Barrett.

The bill would require states to enact bans on texting while driving or risk losing federal funds.

It comes after research released by Virginia Tech University this week saying that drivers who text are 23 times more likely to get into a wreck. Other sponsors include Democratic Sens. Chuck Schumer of New York, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Robert Menendez of New Jersey.

Gov. Beverly Perdue signed into law a ban on texting while driving. 

The ban, which prohibits typing or reading texts or e-mails on a mobile phone while driving a car, goes into effect Dec. 1. Dome got the word, appropriately, in a text message from Perdue spokeswoman Chrissy Pearson. 

FYI — Gov just signed HB 9, No Texting While Driving. This msg 2 u was composed while I was behind my desk, not behind the wheel. Hope u r not driving now. :)

Dome wasn't.

The ban still allows drivers to use GPS devices. It also allows drivers to text while the car is parked. The law wouldn't stop drivers from looking up contacts to make a call.

Texting while driving a school bus is a misdemeanor punishable by a $100 fine. Texting while driving anything else is a less serious infraction punishable by a $100 fine.  

A Senate judiciary committee approved a proposed ban on driving while texting Tuesday with few questions.

The bill, which already cleared the House, could go to the Senate floor this week.

"At the end of the day it's about safety," said Rep. Garland Pierce, a Democrat from Wagram and chief sponsor of the bill.

Lobbyists for AAA, State Farm Insurance and "the beleaguered automobile manufacturers all spoke in favor of the legislation.

Under the bill, texting while behind the wheel would be an infraction punishable by a $100 fine, and texting while driving a school bus would be a misdemeanor, drawing a $200 fine.

Forget about texting.

A Senate bill would bar drivers from couch-surfing.

The bill, titled "Various Changes in Motor Vehicle Law," is a grab-bag of fine-print adjustments to safety regulations and other state law, reports Bruce Siceloff.

But it would also ban drivers from "operating, using, or viewing any television, computer of video disc player" while on the road.

Siceloff has more here on his blog, Crosstown Traffic. 

The House adopted a bill that would make it a crime to send a text message or e-mail message while driving a car.

The bill, which now heads to the Senate, cleared the House 104 to 5. It's adoption was delayed while House members worked out language that would affect lawsuits following  collisions in which texting was a factor. The compromise essentially says that texting alone isn't enough to prove negligence.

The bill would make texting behind the wheel an infraction punishable by a $100 fine. Texting while driving a school bus would be a misdemeanor punishable by a $200 fine. The bill's sponsor acknowledges that the bill may be hard to enforce.