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New state laws take effect today

Capital Gazette Communications
Published 10/01/11

Effective today, it's illegal for a driver to read a text message, even while sitting at a red light.

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Also, employers may not consider an applicant's credit history unless there's a justifiable reason for doing so, and a court may order a convicted animal abuser not to live in a household that has animals.

These are but three of the roughly 300 bills - some of them identical House and Senate versions of the same legislation - that went into effect at 12:01 a.m. today.

The new texting law makes writing, sending or reading a text while driving a primary enforcement offense. A conviction is a misdemeanor, and a...

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Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight.    0 1

No text - 2011-10-01 13:50:55

It is very simple, if you are in the act of driving OR on the travel portion of the roadway, i.e. sitting at a light or stop sign - not parked on the shoulder, you are breaking the law.

Just don't text and drive and you will not have to worry about the spirit or letter of the law. Everyone knows it is dangerous it's just a shame we need government to tell us so.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Jerry Enslow - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent


Report Abuse or Vote In order to allow the user community the ability to collectively rank the value of comments posted on the Capital Gazette websites we have implemented a thumbs-up/down system. All logged-in users may participate by voting up/down each comment. If others vote on your comment, your individual score will go up/down depending on the votes. Initially, everyone starts with a score of zero, and must earn credits to have significant voting weight. Individuals with higher scores will have more voting weight.    0 0

Other "Notifications" - 2011-10-01 07:05:05

I wonder how long it will take before there is a needed interpretation about what is covered in the law. The two relevant parts of Md Code, Transportation 211124.1 are:

(3) "Text messaging device" means a hand held device used to send a text message or an electronic message via a short message service, wireless telephone service, or electronic communication network.

(b) In general.- Subject to subsection (c) of this section, a person may not use a text messaging device to write or send a text message while operating a motor vehicle in motion or in the travel portion of the roadway.

So when you sit bored at a light and read Facebook/Google+ notifications (or any other services available on a smart phone), does that violate the law? Certainly violates the "spirit of", but not sure about the "letter of" the law. There are explicit exemptions (911 and GPS use), so does that mean anything not covered by the exemptions is included? Will be interested to see how this shakes out.

unhide Comment hidden due to low ranking. Why is this comment hidden?

Alex Pline - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Excellent

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