State officials aim to raise awareness of texting ban with new campaign

If you’re one of the drivers Indiana officials are trying to reach with a new awareness campaign, the following statement may surprise you.

In Indiana, it is illegal for drivers to text or email while operating a vehicle.

This has been the case for nearly three months, but, according to state officials, many motorists are not aware of the change.

Those officials launched an effort Wednesday to increase awareness of the ban, which went into effect July 1. 

“In order for this new law to help make our roads safer by deterring drivers from the dangerous practice of texting while driving, people have to be aware of it,” State Senator Travis Holdman said Wednesday at a press conference in Indianapolis.

The campaign will use dynamic message signs along major roads across the state to inform unaware drivers of the ban.

About 50 signs across Indiana will display the message “No Texting While Driving, It’s the Law,” as well as “Arrive Alive, Don’t Text and Drive.”
The signs will remain until Sept. 25.

“Thousands of drivers will see these signs in the next few days as they drive on major thoroughfares around the state, which will help reduce the number of people texting behind the wheel and make all Hoosiers safer on the road,” Holdman said, standing near one of the signs hanging over Interstate 65 in Indianapolis.

Texting and emailing has become a major source of distracted driving in recent years.

About 1,200 crashes involved cell phone use in Indiana during 2010, according to Indiana State Police records. Four of those accidents resulted in the death of a person.

In 2009, a Virginia Tech Transportation Institute study found that drivers who actively text will take their eyes off the road for approximately 4.6 seconds every 6 seconds. If a vehicle is traveling at 55 mph, the driver can travel the length of an entire football field without ever looking at the road.

At the press conference, Holdman said the law and the campaign are not about getting people in trouble. The state’s goal is to save lives and hopefully to do so by self-governance more than police enforcement, he said.

“We’re really not too concerned with the number of citations, the number of tickets that officers are writing throughout the state,” Holdman said. “We believe the message needs to be carried through public awareness to folks that it’s dangerous to be texting and emailing and to read those texts and emails while driving.”

— Jake New