That's the N.C. fine come Tuesday, when TWD law kicks in

IT'S THE LAW (come Tuesday)

A statute change that takes effect Tuesday imposes a $100 fine and court costs upon anyone caught sending text messages while driving on a public road or in a public parking lot. The punishment may not include driver's license points or insurance surcharges, and a conviction shall not constitute proof of negligence in civil lawsuits against drivers.

Older provisions ban the use of a cell phone's camera, music, Internet or e-mail features while driving. The law excludes law enforcement officers, ambulance drivers and members of fire departments.

The bill's primary sponsors were Reps. Larry Hall (D-Durham), Pricey Harrison (D-Greensboro), Garland Pierce (D-Wagram) and Sen. James Forrester (R-Stanley).

A bill to ban speaking on a cell phone while driving has yet to gain traction among legislators. The state prohibits only minors and school bus drivers from talking on a mobile phone while driving.

Penalties for violating those bans are $25 for minors and $100 for school bus drivers. Exceptions are allowed for certain emergency communications and, for minors, communications with a spouse, parent or guardian.

By Matthew E. Milliken

mmilliken@heraldsun.com; 419-6684

DURHAM -- Got a text message that you're burning to send? Pull over.

As of Tuesday, that will be the law in the state of North Carolina. Texting while driving will be punishable by a $100 fine.

An unscientific Sunday-morning survey of shoppers outside the South Square Target found only a few people who opposed the ban.

One was Joshua Bao, a 33-year-old Chinese citizen studying at Duke's Fuqua School of Business. He doesn't consider texting while driving a significant risk.

"If you're legal to drive, you're an adult," Bao said. "So you know how to control your safety yourself."

He also questioned how authorities could prove a motorist was texting behind the wheel.

Stephen Gioioso, a 30-year-old property manager who called himself "a small-L libertarian," acknowledged that texting while driving poses a safety hazard but said he was philosophically opposed to the new law.

"If someone cause an accident, they should be in trouble for it," he said. But "to preemptively say what you're doing may cause an accident so therefore you can't do it even though it hasn't caused an accident yet is an infringement on people's liberty."

Added Gioioso: "There are a million things people can do while they're driving that would make it dangerous. To make all those things illegal would really blow up the court system, probably."

Tonya Hanna, a self-described stay-at-home mom, sees it differently.

"I have a bad habit of doing it myself, but I think it's a good law," she said. "My husband's a tow-truck driver, and there's a lot of wrecks that occur because of it."

Hanna, 35, believes the law will make roads safer.

Attorney Ralph McCaughan, 70, called the ban an "absolutely good idea."

"I think it's long overdue," he said. "I think every state ought to have it."

McCaughan called texting while driving "very dangerous. Puts other people at risk, puts yourself at risk. It's a no-brainer."

Mairo Bori, a 37-year-old nurse, and her three daughters agree.

"I think it's a good law because I know people who've almost gotten into accidents while driving" and texting, said Zainab Bori, a 19-year-old Florida A&M University student. "It's really hard to focus on texting while driving."

Asked whether she had done it herself, she laughed and said, "Maybe in my younger days."

"I've seen people try to answer text messages while they're in the car, and I'm like, OK, you need to be paying attention to the road right now," said Faridah Bori, 16, an N.C. School of Science and Mathematics student.

"They should ban talking on the phone as well, because they're just the same," said Fatimah Bori, a 17-year-old who attends City of Medicine Academy. "Either way, you're going to lose focus."