After several years of failed measures, and after being one of only 6 states that did not have such a law, Oklahoma has passed a law specifically makingit illegal to text while driving.
House Bill 1965, sponsored by Rep. Terry O'Donnell and others, was initially proposed as a law that would make texting while driving a secondary offense,a move that critics called redundant, citing existing distracted driving laws. When the bill passed the House and moved on to the Senate, Sen. ErvinYen was instrumental in amending the bill to make texting while driving a primary offense. After the amendment passed the Senate, it was returned tothe House for consideration, where it passed.
Effective November 1, 2015, under the Trooper Nicholas Dees and Trooper Keith Burch Act of 2015, it is against the law to use a handheld communicationdevice to compose, send, or read electronic messages. Whereas texting while driving was previously a secondary offense in which a driver couldonly be cited for distracted driving after causing an accident, a law enforcement officer can now stop a driver he or she sees texting and issue aticket specifically for texting while driving without witnessing any other traffic violations.
Texting while driving is punishable by a $100 fine.
The new law, which will be codified in 47 O.S.� 11-901d, reads in part as follows:
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to operate a motor vehicle on any street or highway within this state while using a hand-held electronic communication device to manually compose, send or read an electronic text message while the motor vehicle is in motion.
B. Any person who violates the provisions of subsection A of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by a fine of not more than One Hundred Dollars ($100.00).
C. The Department of Public Safety shall not record or assess points for violations of this section on any license holder's traffic record maintained by the Department.
D. The provisions of subsection A of this section shall not apply if the person is using the cellular telephone or electronic communication device for the sole purpose of communicating with any of the following regarding an imminent emergency situation:
E. Municipalities may enact and municipal police officers may enforce ordinances prohibiting and penalizing conduct under the provisions of this section. The provisions of such ordinances shall be the same as provided for in this section; the enforcement provisions of those ordinances shall not be more stringent than those of this section; and the fine and court costs for municipal ordinance violations shall be the same or a lesser amount as provided for in this section.
The law continues to provide definitions of "electronic messages," which includes text messages, images, and emails, and "handheld communication device,"which includes cell phones and smartphones but does not include hands-free devices which allow a user to compose messages by voice activation.
