Texting Ban
Does the texting ban apply to all?
Here is a post from the Boston Globe;
Taken from that article is the following;
“Boston police officials said that officers in traffic units across the city will be on the lookout for violators, and they plan to target young drivers, who tend to be the worst offenders when it comes to texting.”
You can imagine my suprise as I was driving in Billerica yesterday.
I came to a traffic light at Rt 3A. I saw a local police car (Plate # 22U) easing up to the traffic light in the next lane. As the car approached, I looked over and saw the officer busy typing on his computer. When the light changed he began driving and I saw the screen changing on his in-cruiser screen. He was typeing and driving.
I began to wonder…
Could I pull him over and ask him to write a ticket to himself for breaking the texting law?
Was I breaking the spirit of the law by watching his computer screen as I drove?
Does it apply to computers mounted in your car?
Is that the loophole?
(Sorry, just assuming that any law written on Beacon Hill has at least one major loophole.)
I found the following definion on a lawyers website.
“The new law, Chapter 155 of the Laws of 2010, amends Massachusetts General Laws, Chapter 90 in numerous ways. First, it defines “electronic message” to include texting, use of the internet, or other “keystroke” entry systems. ”
So will our local community assure that government officials, including Public Safety personnel comply with the law?
Guess we will have to wait and see if any Municipal vehicles get “pulled over” and ticketed for violation of this law.