A new texting while driving law effecting drivers in everywhere Florida begins on October 1.
Texting and Driving will no longer be considered “legal” in Florida; anyone who is caught in the act will have to now face major consequences. This new law was created December of last year and passed April 30 by the Florida Senate.
With this date just days away, it is going to have a mass effect on students, staff, and everybody in the state of Florida. This is the first many of our students have heard of this new law.
“No, I didn’t know anything about this new law,” UCF student Teaonca Haddock said when asked about the new law.
The law bans manual texting while driving but not while stopped in traffic or at traffic lights. It is also a secondary offense — meaning a driver would have to be pulled over for some other violation to get a ticket.
In recent months, phone companies such as AT&T have been showing texting and driving pledge commercials as part of the “It Can Wait” campaign. According to the National Safety Council, over 100,000 crashes occur each year because of texting and driving.
“I feel like this could be a good thing but only if it is enforced thoroughly,” Teaonca also said. “I’m not too sure that it will be enough to stop a lot of people from texting and driving unless the consequences are big.”
We tried to reach out to Florida Governor Rick Scott for comment on the new law but did not immediately hear back.
