LINCOLN — Most text messages have a capacity of 160 characters — which is greater than the number of tickets and warnings issued by Nebraska and Iowa law enforcement agencies in the texting bans that took effect in those two states in July.
Nebraska state troopers wrote the largest number of tickets of any state agency from July through December, 22. Troopers in Iowa, which has a one-year grace period before tickets will be written, issued 98 warnings through December.
The measures ban drivers from typing, sending or reading text messages or e-mails on portable electronic devices.
Texting while driving is a secondary offense in both states, although Iowa makes it a primary offense for drivers younger than 18. A secondary offense means violators wouldn't be ticketed unless they were pulled over for another infraction.
The low numbers don't necessarily mean texting while driving has subsided, said Fred Zwonechek, head of the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety.
“I still see people not doing anything to hide texting — they're texting with their phone in the center of the steering wheel in plain sight,” he said. “They're oblivious to almost everyone, including law enforcement.”
Drivers distracted by cell phones cause an estimated 1.6 million accidents annually, according to the National Safety Council.
The roads departments in both states noticed a recent spike in the number of crashes caused by electronic distractions.
In Nebraska, accidents in which cell phone distraction was reported as a factor rose almost 54 percent in four years, from 101 in 2006 to 155 in 2009. The state hasn't released 2010 data.
In Iowa, accidents caused by portable electronic devices increased nearly 15 percent in the same four-year span, from 667 in 2006 to 766 in 2009. Preliminary data for 2010, however, show that number fell back to 662.
Rob Reynolds of Omaha, co-founder with his wife, Shari, of the CAR Alliance for Safer Teen Driving, is disappointed that lawmakers didn't make texting while driving a primary offense, but said he is encouraged by the number of tickets issued, saying cell phone usage and driving don't mix.
“This is a cultural norm that needs to be changed,” said Reynolds, whose daughter Cady, 16, was killed in a 2007 car accident.
In Nebraska, a spot check indicated that Omaha police have issued 21 tickets; Lincoln police, 16; and Grand Island, none.
Scotts Bluff County and Sarpy County law enforcement have not ticketed anyone.
In Iowa, Council Bluffs Police Sgt. Jason Bailey said he thinks drivers largely are complying with the law. His department has issued only verbal warnings. Bailey said he gave his first warning Wednesday after discovering that a driver he stopped had been texting.
Others interviewed weren't so sure that fewer people are texting while driving.
“We suspect it's way underreported, like falling asleep behind the wheel,” Zwonechek said. “Unless the driver admits it, it's difficult to identify.”
Sarpy County Sheriff's Capt. Monty Daganaar echoed that concern.
“I don't know how you prove someone was texting as opposed to talking or dialing a number,” Dagamaar said.
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john.schreier@owh.com
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