Georgia City to Outlaw Cell Phone Usage While Driving

Marietta, Georgia has passed a new city ordinance that now makes it illegal to hold a mobile device while driving. Marietta is now the second city in Cobb County to pass a hands-free driving law.

Marietta city council member, Michelle Cooper Kelly is credited with proposing the new law after seeing an increase in driver fatalities in the state of Georgia. The law will go into effect beginning in April.

Texting and driving are known to be the leading cause of teen deaths in the United States. As mentioned in a report by DMV.org, a whopping 42% percent of teens have admitted to texting while driving.

In a study done by the National Safety Council, a minimum of 26% of car crashes have been caused by drivers talking or texting while driving in 2013.

Social Media Causing Distracted Driving

Most people may admit to using a cellphone while driving at least once in their lives. As a large portion of these people has lifted their phones to check text messages or make phone calls, the recent popularity of social media applications like Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram have also contributed to a large number of car accidents.

In Santa Clarita, California, an unidentified driver was recently caught on a Snapchat story while driving with his feet. The passengers of the vehicle are also being held accountable for capturing the video and encouraging the driver to pull off such a dangerous stunt leading to a collision with an oncoming vehicle. Recent news updates suggest that all of the vehicle’s occupants may have been drinking prior to operating the vehicle.

Driving is Privilege, Not a Right

To ensure driver safety, most states have passed some sort of law or regulation banning the use of mobile devices while driving. Although many states have not banned complete mobile device usage while driving yet, California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia (plus Washington D.C., Puerto Rico, Guam and the U.S. Virgin Islands) remain the only states that prohibit all drivers from using handheld devices while driving.

For more information on driver safety, and to reduce points and earn an insurance discount, visit DriveSafeToday.com.