As of January 1st, 2010, drivers in Austin, TX cannot legally use cell phones for anything other than phone calls. That means no texting, no scrolling, no surfing, no navigating while driving on a public roadway unless you need to report an emergency.

There will be a one-month grace period, during which offenders will get off with a warning. After that, violations are Class C misdemeanors that could result in a $500 fine. Here are some answers to questions about the law.

How will the ban be enforced?

With difficulty. Officers will make stops based primarily on erratic driving, said Austin Assistant Police Chief Al Eells. Beyond that, police will have to catch a driver in the act to make a traffic stop. Because dialing a cell phone can look like texting, an officer will need to watch a driver for a “prolonged” period of time to make sure he’s actually texting, said Cmdr. Stephen Baker, who heads up Austin Police Department’s highway enforcement command.

Moreover, since the violation must also occur while the vehicle is moving, the observing officer essentially will have to be driving alongside a potential offender. Thus, for safety reasons, the opportunity to view driving-and-texting scofflaws will occur mainly in slower, city driving. “It’s going to be a lot of officer discretion,” Baker said.

What about the surfing/scrolling/e-mailing part of the ban: How will that be enforced?

Lightly. It will be difficult to distinguish whether a driver is, say, looking up a contact to dial (legal) or reading e-mail (illegal). “If a person is just holding a cell phone up in front of his face and reading it, we don’t make that stop,” Baker said. “There’s no way we’re going to be taking those to court.”

Will police take my cell phone and read my texts?

While prosecutors say such searches would be legal, Baker said Austin police won’t search anyone’s phone.

What if I’m from out of town and haven’t heard about the law?

Driver beware. Eells said the city will place informational brochures at places such as the airport and convention center. “Will that capture the guy traveling through Austin on I-35? Probably not,” he said.

Will anyone be arrested?

Not unless the driver refuses to sign a citation. A texting violation won’t go on the driver’s record, either.

How big is the problem locally?

Austin police report that since the beginning of the year, there have been 129 serious collisions in which cell phones have been implicated and 12 involving texting while driving.

Why is texting banned and not cell phones? Read the rest of this entry »

For those of you who have been following my recent arrest and citations in Lakeway, Texas:

I have been found NOT-Guilty on all charges.

I am still not at liberty to discuss much more on this site (per my lawyer) until civil matters have been resolved, and I have suspended all posts related to Lakeway. However, for those of you who have been communicating with me directly, or who are past supporters, feel free to email me. I’ll fill you in on what I can.

Ohio Court of Appeals rules that a police officer cannot issue a speeding ticket because A CAR SOUNDS FAST.

The Ohio Court of Appeals on Monday ruled that a motorist cannot be convicted of speeding based solely on how fast his car may have sounded. On October 18, 2007, Patrolman Ken Roth ticketed Daniel Freitag in the village of West Salem as Freitag was driving with his wife Jane on US Route 42. Roth claimed his radar unit clocked Freitag at 42 MPH in a 35 zone. Roth also claimed he could hear Freitag’s 2006 Lincoln Navigator speeding.

“As it approached I could hear the vehicle on the roadway which based on my training and experience it is consistent with a vehicle that was in excess of the posted speed limit,” Roth testified.

A trial court judge on November 16, 2007 accepted this testimony and found Freitag guilty. Freitag challenged this decision before the Ohio Court of Appeals on the grounds that the radar evidence was not admissible. The trial court claimed it had taken judicial notice of the “Genesis Radar” that Roth used, but the state failed to specify which particular radar model was used. Freitag won on the point that the radar evidence was improperly admitted, but he lost as the court sent the case back to the trial judge to rule whether the officer’s estimate of Freitag’s speed based on the Navigator’s sound was credible. The trial court once again supported the officer and ruled that Freitag was guilty.

Freitag, however, did not give up. He appealed a second time, insisting that the officer’s testimony that he could estimate a vehicle’s speed by its sound or by watching a car’s headlights through the patrol car’s rear-view mirror was absurd. This time, the appeals court agreed.

Read the rest of this entry »

Several new Texas laws went into effect on September 1, 2009. Among them was one prohibiting the use of cell phones (and pagers, texting devices, etc.) in a school zone.

House Bill 55 made it illegal to “use a wireless communication device (while driving) in a school zone unless the vehicle is stopped or a hands-free device is used”. However, it’s a defense to prosecution if the operator was making an emergency call.

However, there is one caveat — Cities or counties wanting to enforce this law must post a sign at the beginning of each school zone to inform drivers that using a wireless communications device is prohibited and the operator is subject to a fine.

I have yet to see an actual case of this law being enforced anywhere I’ve driven in Texas.  I DID come across one sign (left) that APPEARED to be an instance of this law being in effect, but, it’s not a school zone — it’s just a crosswalk. And it’s not even a school — it’s a church!

I’m thinking that the city (or highway department, or whoever) put this sign up thinking that they were exercising their right, as guaranteed by the new law — but, the law only applies to ‘school zones’! Now, maybe, the city council made some decision not related to the new Texas law, and decided to allow these signs on just any ol’ crosswalk, but I doubt it. I think they are just placing a sign where it’s not applicable. Good idea? Yes! Enforcable? Probably not.

Anyhow… I DO think it’s an excellent idea to have such a law within school zones. Drivers can be really inattentive at times, only complicated by trying to talk on the phone or send a text. Surely, drivers can refrain from using their phones for the duration of driving through a school zone.

I hope I start to see more signs like this (in school zones). And, I say sock it to the drivers who ignore this law and pay more attention to their devices than to their driving. A hefty fine would be in order, just like any other infraction in a school zone.

Drive safely, especially in school zones, and be on the lookout for these new signs.

Yep, that’s right! While running an errand during a break from work, I was stopped by one of Austin’s finest. In the end, I ended up getting a ticket. And, I’ll freely admit that I was guilty of what the officer described! The only problem is: What I was ticketed for is NOT against the law!

I work in Austin, TX near Metric and Braker. During one of my breaks from work, I made a quick trip to purchase an air compressor from a Craigslist seller. He lived near Lamar and North Loop. On my way back, I was going north on N. Lamar approaching Hwy 183. At the stop light at Morrow street, I was in the left lane. Intending to turn north on 183, I realized that I needed to be in the right lane (the green arrow on the map). So, when the light turned green, I pulled through the intersection, used my turn signal, and smoothly moved over two lanes. There was only one vehicle, several car lengths to the right-rear of me; and, I was never close enough to him to be in any way reckless.

Anyway, in my move to get to the right lane, I drove over the solid white line that delineates the regular lanes from the “exit” lane (where the little red arrow points). I continued on, through the next couple of lights, turning onto the northbound access road. Then, flashing red & blue lights caught my attention. I was being pulled over by an Austin cop. But, for what?! I thought maybe I had clipped through a yellow light at one of the signals or something.

Read the rest of this entry »

Join the forum discussion on this post - (5) Posts