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Reminder for all mass drivers

skiNEwhere

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Didn't even know about this until I went to check my fastlane statement

MassDOT Reminder: Safe Driving Law

Governor Deval Patrick in July signed legislation that bans text-messaging for all Massachusetts drivers, prohibits junior operators from using cell phones and institutes new license renewal procedures for mature drivers, among other provisions.
The Safe Driving Law becomes effective in Massachusetts on September 30, 2010. The law creates a series of new violations, which the RMV Division, MassDOT IT staff and the Merit Rating Board are working to program and implement.

These new violations include:

1. Use of a Mobile Phone by a Junior Operator- Civil Offense- No insurance surcharge

(Reporting an emergency is the only exception. Drivers are encouraged to pull over and stop the vehicle to report the emergency.)
• 1st offense-$100 assessment 60-day license suspension and attitudinal course
• 2nd offense-$250 assessment 180-day suspension
• 3rd or subsequent offense-$500 assessment 1-year suspension
• $100 reinstatement fee for any suspension
• Knowledge and road test required for reinstatement

2. Use of a Mobile Phone by a Public Transport Motor Vehicle Operator- Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge

• $500 assessment each offense

3. Use of a Mobile Phone by a Public Transport Non-Motor Vehicle Operator- Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge (MBTA Trolley)

• $500 assessment each violation

4. Improper Use of a Mobile Phone by Operators 18 and Over- Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge (One hand must be on the steering wheel at all times and no use of device can interfere with driving)

• 1st offense-$35 assessment
• 2nd offense in 12 months-$75 assessment
• 3rd offense in 12 months-$150 assessment

5. Sending/Reading Text Messages- Civil Offense-No insurance surcharge

(Operators cannot use any mobile electronic device to write, send, or read an electronic message including text messages, emails, instant messages or accessing the internet while operating a vehicle. Mobile electronic device includes mobile telephone, text messaging device, paging device, PDA, laptop computer, electronic equipment capable of playing video games or video disks or can take/transmit digital photographs or can receive a television broadcast. Mobile Device does not include any equipment permanently or temporarily installed to provide navigation, emergency assistance or rear seat video entertainment. Law applies even if the vehicle is stopped in traffic.)
• 1st offense-$100 assessment
• 2nd offense-$250 assessment
• 3rd or subsequent offense-$500 assessment

6. Negligent Operation & Injury from Mobile Phone Use- Criminal Offense- Insurance surcharge

JOL Suspensions
• 1st offense-180-day suspension
• 2nd or subsequent offense within 3 years-1 year suspension
• $100 reinstatement fee

Over-18 suspensions
• 1st offense-60-day suspension
• 2nd or subsequent offense within 3 years-1 year suspension
• $100 reinstatement fee

Elder Driving Provisions

License applicants, either for initial licensure in Massachusetts or license renewal, age 75 and older must conduct the transaction in a RMV office. Use of the Internet for license renewals will no longer be allowed for these applicants. All applicants, regardless of age, that obtain or renew a license in a branch office are required to undergo a vision test or provide a vision screening certificate to complete the transaction.

Medical Fitness Reporting

Health care providers and law enforcement may report operators believed not to be physically or mentally capable of safely operating due to cognitive or functional impairment
• May request RMV to seek medical evaluation of operator
• Requests can’t be based on operator age or solely on diagnosis of condition or impairment-must be on the effect either has on ability to drive
• Good faith belief of impairment based on-
o Personal observation
o Physical evidence
o Law enforcement investigation

I didn't know they passed the elder bill, guess i've been on the moon, so much for age discrimination?
 
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riverc0il

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I doubt many folks will be against texting while driving but I am AMAZED that the politicians of MA got their act together, put their own careers in jeopardy, and passed the elder driver law. I hope they are tough on it, too. That might save more accidents than the texting bill.
 

WakeboardMom

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I had a conversation about this just yesterday, but the gentleman in question is a NH resident. His doctor put into his medical records that he should NOT be driving. Because of HIPAA regulations, however, this information can't be forwarded to anyone in the DMV. The issue has to be handled by family members. Perhaps if this goes well in MA, it will be considered by NH.
 

Geoff

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I had a conversation about this just yesterday, but the gentleman in question is a NH resident. His doctor put into his medical records that he should NOT be driving. Because of HIPAA regulations, however, this information can't be forwarded to anyone in the DMV. The issue has to be handled by family members. Perhaps if this goes well in MA, it will be considered by NH.

No physician is going to screw with HIPAA by releasing any medical information to the DMV. The fines and jail time can be $1.5 million and 10 years. Anybody who got ratted out could also turn around and file a civil suit. Malpractice insurance doesn't cover willful disregard of the law.
 

hammer

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I doubt many folks will be against texting while driving but I am AMAZED that the politicians of MA got their act together, put their own careers in jeopardy, and passed the elder driver law. I hope they are tough on it, too. That might save more accidents than the texting bill.
Last time I went to RMV to renew my license there was an elderly lady in front who did not appear to have the mental capability to drive (yes it was obvious). Fortunately, she failed the eye test.
 

Geoff

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Unlikely IMHO. It will most likely be handled the way seat-belt law is; You won't be stopped/checked, but if there is another incident or violation, the charge may be added. That's too bad because it will only be enforced when an accident occurs.

The difference is that people driving while distracted tend to weave around. If a cop sees somebody who can't keep it between the lines, he can pull them over. There is already adequate law to write them a ticket. The cop could pile on by heaping a cell phone violation on top of the other laws being broken.

I don't think this particular law will ever be enforcable in court. There is no way to prove that you were texting on your cell phone unless they confiscate your phone or get a court order to get your cellular provider to release all of your call detail records. Nobody is going to do that for a routine traffic citation.
 

billski

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The difference is that people driving while distracted tend to weave around. If a cop sees somebody who can't keep it between the lines, he can pull them over. There is already adequate law to write them a ticket. The cop could pile on by heaping a cell phone violation on top of the other laws being broken.

I don't think this particular law will ever be enforcable in court. There is no way to prove that you were texting on your cell phone unless they confiscate your phone or get a court order to get your cellular provider to release all of your call detail records. Nobody is going to do that for a routine traffic citation.

Reminds me of the people who get tagged for flashing their lights to warn of speed trap up ahead.
"I'm giving you a ticket for defective lights"
"But officer, my lights are fine"
"OK, if that's true I'll give you a summons for interfering with law enforcement, which is a much higher penalty."

(or cite you for having emergency vehicle lighting which allows flashing.)
 

tarponhead

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Elder Driving Provisions

License applicants, either for initial licensure in Massachusetts or license renewal, age 75 and older must conduct the transaction in a RMV office. Use of the Internet for license renewals will no longer be allowed for these applicants. All applicants, regardless of age, that obtain or renew a license in a branch office are required to undergo a vision test or provide a vision screening certificate to complete the transaction.

At First She Didn’t Succeed, but She Tried and Tried Again (960 Times)
By CHOE SANG-HUN
Published: September 3, 2010
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SINCHON, South Korea
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Choe Sang-Hun/The New York Times
Cha Sa-soon, with her new car.
A PERSON could know South Korea for a long time without knowing Wanju, an obscure county 112 miles south of Seoul. And, at least until recently, a person could know a lot about Wanju without ever hearing of Cha Sa-soon, a 69-year-old woman who lives alone in the mountain-ringed village of Sinchon.

Now, however, Ms. Cha is an unlikely national celebrity.

This diminutive woman, now known nationwide as “Grandma Cha Sa-soon,” has achieved a record that causes people here to first shake their heads with astonishment and then smile: She failed her driver’s test hundreds of times but never gave up. Finally, she got her license — on her 960th try.

For three years starting in April 2005, she took the test once a day five days a week. After that, her pace slowed, to about twice a week. But she never quit.

Hers is a fame based not only on sheer doggedness, a quality held in high esteem by Koreans, but also on the universal human sympathy for a monumental — and in her case, cheerful — loser.

“When she finally got her license, we all went out in cheers and hugged her, giving her flowers,” said Park Su-yeon, an instructor at Jeonbuk Driving School, which Ms. Cha once attended. “It felt like a huge burden falling off our back. We didn’t have the guts to tell her to quit because she kept showing up.”

Of course, Ms. Park and another driving teacher noted, perhaps Ms. Cha should content herself with simply getting the license and not endangering others on the road by actually driving. But they were not too worried about the risk, they said, because it was the written test, not the driving skill and road tests, that she failed so many times.

WHEN word began spreading last year of the woman who was still taking the test after failing it more than 700 times, reporters traced her to Sinchon, where the bus, the only means of public transportation, comes by once every two hours on a street so narrow it has to pull over to let other vehicles pass.

They followed her to the test site in the city of Jeonju, an hour away. There, they also videotaped her in the market, where she sells her home-grown vegetables at an open-air stall.

Once she finally got her license, in May, Hyundai-Kia Automotive Group, South Korea’s leading carmaker, started an online campaign asking people to post messages of congratulations. Thousands poured in. In early August, Hyundai presented Ms. Cha with a $16,800 car.
 

Glenn

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The difference is that people driving while distracted tend to weave around. If a cop sees somebody who can't keep it between the lines, he can pull them over. There is already adequate law to write them a ticket. The cop could pile on by heaping a cell phone violation on top of the other laws being broken.

I don't think this particular law will ever be enforcable in court. There is no way to prove that you were texting on your cell phone unless they confiscate your phone or get a court order to get your cellular provider to release all of your call detail records. Nobody is going to do that for a routine traffic citation.

We've had the law here in CT for quite some time. I beleive if you show a receipt for buying a "hands free" device, they'll waive the fine or nix the offense; provided it's your first cell phone ticket. Now you know why the cell carriers lobbied hard for this one.

I can't say the road is any safer than it was before. IMHO, this law is just another revenue generator for states and towns. People still do other stupid sh_t behind the wheel...shave, eat, read the paper...I've seen it all...most of it at least. And I still see just as many people as before talking on their phones. Oh, and cops are exempt from the law....An interesting way to set an example. They'll pull you over for a ticket...once they get off their cellphone. It's almost like they're drinking a 6 pack...while keeping the road safe from drunk drivers.

And regarding the other point...how will they show that you're texting? I listen to interweb radio when I drive. I pick up the phone to skip a song or mark one as a favorite. How can they tell between that an texting?
 

Geoff

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And regarding the other point...how will they show that you're texting? I listen to interweb radio when I drive. I pick up the phone to skip a song or mark one as a favorite. How can they tell between that an texting?

I read the Vermont statute carefully since that is where I constantly run the police gauntlet. In Massholia, the police have more important things to do. The Bridgewater sheriff and the Vermont State Police on the Killington Access Road will be using this statute to pull in an extra $100.00. I don't need the 2 points on my license.

Vermont Texting Statute said:
Sec. 2. 23 V.S.A. § 1099 is added to read:
§ 1099. TEXTING PROHIBITED
(a) As used in this section, “texting” means the reading or the manual
composing or sending of electronic communications including text messages,
instant messages, or e-mails using a portable electronic device as defined in
subdivision 4(81) of this title, but shall not be construed to include use of a
global positioning or navigation system.

(b) A person shall not engage in texting while operating a moving motor vehicle on a highway.

(c) A person who violates this section commits a traffic violation as defined in section 2302 of this title and shall be subject to a penalty of $100.00 upon adjudication of a first violation and $250.00 upon adjudication of a second or subsequent violation within any two-year period.

(1) Two points assessed for:
(MM) § 1099. Texting prohibited—first offense;

(4) Five points assessed for:
(C) § 1099. Texting prohibited—second and subsequent offenses;

In Vermont, diddling with Pandora streaming audio could be construed by some traffic court judge as "electronic communications" if you use the broadest possible definition of the term rather than the narrow email & text message definition of "electronic communications". You're reading something on your portable electronic device that has been transmitted electronically and it has nothing to do with GPS or Nav. Doing something with Google Maps is definitely use of GPS or a Nav system. My take-away is to always have my Blackberry on Google Maps when I'm in Vermont. If I feel the need to post on AlpineZone or read an email, I'll just put it back to Google Maps when I'm done.
 
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Glenn

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There's some silly irony here Geoff. You could get whacked with a fine for hitting one button to advance the song on your phone. However, you can keep driving along, futzing witht the nav, checking the weather...or try to toggle the HVAC controls on the screen built into your dash.
 

mondeo

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There's some silly irony here Geoff. You could get whacked with a fine for hitting one button to advance the song on your phone. However, you can keep driving along, futzing witht the nav, checking the weather...or try to toggle the HVAC controls on the screen built into your dash.
These laws, by default, don't make sense. You can't read a text message but can read a book. (Outside the distracted driving law, which would cover the text messaging anyways.) Can't pick up a phone to say, "I'll be there in 10 minutes. Bye," but can have an in depth, heated technical discussion for an hour as long as it's a handsfree setup. No irony, just lawmakers feeling the need to appear safety-concious.
 

Glenn

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These laws, by default, don't make sense. You can't read a text message but can read a book. (Outside the distracted driving law, which would cover the text messaging anyways.) Can't pick up a phone to say, "I'll be there in 10 minutes. Bye," but can have an in depth, heated technical discussion for an hour as long as it's a handsfree setup. No irony, just lawmakers feeling the need to appear safety-concious.

Sad, but true.
 

ctenidae

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Holding the phone, on speaker, in front of your face while talking into it does NOT qualify as "hands free."

Just sayin'.
 
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