Perdue signs texting ban

@kidcounselor: Cell phone use matches or exceeds the risk driving drunk presents on the highway. Cite your sources for the notions about 'correcting children' or adjusting controls. As for reading while driving down the road -- yeah, seen plenty of that. Even in state tagged vehicles. That doesn't make it smart.

Maybe it is just another tool for the cop who has to wipe my blood off your hood to nail you with yet another fine. Shouldn't be very hard to get your phone use records from your carrier. Consider it a tax on stupid people. I'm all about that. Plenty of people will do this right in front of a cop. Good. If the lawyers don't find ways of watering this down like the speeding tickets, maybe the punch in the wallet will begin to wake up the drivers out there. If this is the nanny state, I'm all about keeping the fools off the road. Driving is a privilege, not a right. One can exercise their right to free speech here with dumb or snide comments, but they should not abuse their privilege by driving stupidly doing 75 mph with a ton of metal tapping to their ever-so-special friends.

What about texting while you're driving a boat drunk and then fleeing the scene?

So she sends out a blanket text- you're in your car and you pick it up to read it while you are driving.

Congrats- She just endangered you and everyone around you.

Inbreeding at its best.

Get real it makes sense to do this because some people are so ignorant they have to text while driving, causing all of us to be in danger. But enforcing it would be hard for the people who want to argue..with the officer. I will be glad when they ban all cell phones hand held in cars like some other states. I have never used a hand held phone while driving a car, I have since day one use my jawbone/bluetooth. Now I use GPS with my phone...thus hands-free again.

Why isn't this law effective IMMEDIATELY? Why wait 5 months?

Gov. Purdue is settling into office just fine.
She has the double talk down to an art. While
recently in Charlotte, she wants taxes raised
so more teachers keep their jobs, but didn't
have much to say about which taxes.

Now she has signed a testing ban that will not
be enforceable. A waste of time on her part and
that of the Legislature.

Hey Gov..Now that you have signed the bill ( a waste of ink) Let's see you enforce it..

These comments are cracking me up. As usual, backwater NC is YEARS late to this party...just like the smoking ban. You people wouldn't need a nanny if you weren't so d@mn stupid as to try to drive while texting, lol.

Instead of coming up with ways lowering taxes on the businesses that create jobs, the Democrats want to be our nanny's while driving. I think we need to ban drining anything while driving and also ban changing your radio station on the radio while driving.

Governor Bev "Yes I was the Lt. Governor, But I Never knew Anything about anything that was going on" Perdue... returned to the Office between face lifts this week, to sign some tough legislation on texting while driving. She'll disappear again next week to get that wrinkley old chicken skin on her neck problem taken care of, and think of more ways to raise taxes.

Bev has been called out bigtime today for cutting off a county commissioners microphone recently when she did not like the line of questioning...she is also compelled to answer questions on live radio which she MAY not have the GUTS to do!

ok Bev...now have you and the 'crackkks dreamed up some more new taxes after the 100 new ones last week?

Why in the world isn't she signing a bill to ban yapping on the cell phone while driving too? Too many idiots don't pay attention to the road while they're yapping on the phone. You're not driving a phonebooth damn it.

I've almost been hit more times by people who are just plain idiots. Everyone is correct--there is no way to enforce this law; it is a feel-good piece of legislation; and legislators and the gov need to try not to break their arms patting themselves on the back for this waste of time.

Well since you pull over while using your cell phone then this law should not effect you. However, I was almost hit twice on seperate occassions on the same day by drivers who were, gasp, texting and talking on their cell phone.

This seems like a "feelgood" law. It does not address the core issue but gives the impression that "I am doing something about it" perhaps so they can bring it up in their re-election speeches. It would be more appropriate to ban the use of cell phones while driving period (even hands free). If we are serious about this we should be prepared to accept the flack about banning cell phones while driving period, otherwise drop the issue. Half measures are of no benefit.

how can this POSSIBLY be enforced? who is going to tell the police officer, "Oh, why yes officer I wasn't using my gps/placing a phone call/doing any number of the 100 other things still legal with a cell phone--I was actually sending a text while reading my email! Please issue me the maximum citation."

You can still LEGALLY drive down the interstate reading the News & Observer; you can still LEGALLY drive through Charlotte while jotting down your grocery list on the pad in your lap... Considering that more accidents are caused by people - adjusting the radio/CD/tape; adjusting the AC/heater; correcting children; talking to passengers; and eating - I do not feel any safer. In most studies accidents related to cell phone use have never gotten below the # 6th cause... If politicians were serious about motor safety they would outlaw drive thru windows at fast food restaurants; they would demand that car makers disable the AC/heater adjustments and the ability to change radio channels or adjust volumes or eject CD once the car is put in drive. The bottom line is that banning anything to do with cell phones is just a way to make the sheeple think politicians care...and by the way - I always pull over when I need to use my cell phone!

The state should also pass a bill banning driving and cell phone use. Studies have shown that drivers using cell phones (handheld or hands-free) have accident rates as high as drunk drivers. http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2006-06/uou-doc062306.php Portugal, for example, bans all cell phone use by the driver while the car is in motion. How many times have you seen drivers on cell phones go through red lights totally oblivious to their environment? This is a no-brainer.

Unfortunately, the 1.5 Billion in new taxes Perdue wants to raise is only one of those two things.

Is it possible she signed something that isn't costing us tax money?

Are we gonna hire more cops to enforce this......how's this gonna work?