NORTH FULTON - Drivers beware - if you text while driving, the cops might just pull you over.
As of July 1, drivers in Georgia are not allowed to text while behind the wheel. Named after Caleb Sorohan, a teen who was killed while texting and driving, the new law mostly applies just to drivers under 18. Teens are no longer allowed to text or even be on the phone while driving. Texting is outright banned for all drivers.
The amount of accidents caused by texting or cell phone use have reached such worrying levels that it has become standard practice for an officer to request the cell phone records of someone involved in a serious accident. According to the National Safety Council, nearly one-third of crashes are caused by cell phone use while driving.
Alpharetta Public Safety Spokesman George Gordon said an officer has three ways to determine if someone has been texting: "through observation, if there's a serious accident where we have to pull the records and the admission of a driver."
If a vehicle is swerving on the road, the officer can pull it over for safety reasons. When speaking to the driver, the officer determines the reason for the swerving - it could be any number of reasons, from changing the CD to texting to driving drunk.
James McGee, spokesman for the Roswell Police Department, said his officers will not be given any particular training for the new law.
"The officers will use their observation skills and knowledge of driving habits learned from the first day of policing [to enforce the law]," said McGee. "The officers don't need probable cause to stop a vehicle, only reasonable suspicion." The suspicion includes weaving in and out of lanes or looking down instead of at the road.
Don't think that just because texting is now illegal you can instead use an instant messaging feature or surf the web on your phone - anything that involves typing more than a phone number is banned.
Anyone convicted of violating the new law can face 1 point on the license and a $150 fine.
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