Posted on July 14th, 2010
According to Radio Iowa, 17-year-old Jennifer Flockhart from Mechanicsville was likely typing a text message before she crashed her vehicle on July 5. In eastern Iowa, Flockhart flipped her car into a ditch and was killed.
An Iowa Department of Public Safety Spokesperson said that police located an unfinished text on the girl’s cell phone. Radio Iowa quotes Iowa DPS spokesperson Jessica Lown, “‘Unfortunately, we have some evidence to indicate that she may have been texting while she was driving and it may have been a contributing factor to the accident that took her life,” Lown said.’”
Iowa has officially made it illegal to text and drive simultaneously. This year, motorists will only receive a warning for the dangerous behavior. Next year, the fines will ensue.
Posted on June 30th, 2010
Texting and driving is officially banned in Iowa as of July 1st. It will be considered a secondary offense, though, so police cannot pull you over solely for the act of texting. The state is also giving drivers a chance to get used to the ban. For the first year, officers will be issuing warnings. After that, according to KELO-TV, officers will decide how to proceed on a case-by-case basis.
KELO-TV reports that, Sioux County Chief Deputy Sheriff Jason Bergsma says, “The number of complaints about erratic driving has gone up just as texting has become more popular.” He hopes that this ban will help the number of those complaints go back down.
Texting and driving can cause serious accidents. If you or someone you know has been injured in an accident, call an experienced Iowa automobile accident lawyer at 877-327-2600.
