Texting While Driving Now Legal In Colorado -- In Some Cases (kdvr.com)

Fines for texting and driving in Colorado have jumped to $300, but according to the fine print, the increased fine only applies to drivers who are texting in "a careless or imprudent manner." Therefore, drivers who are texting in any other manner are still within the law. FOX31 Denver reports: Before the new legislation, any texting while driving was illegal. Tim Lane of the Colorado District Attorney's Office confirmed the softening crackdown on all texting and driving. "The simple fact is that if you are texting while driving but not being careless, it's no longer illegal," he said. What constitutes "careless" driving is up to the discretion of each individual law enforcement officer. Cellphone use of any kind is still banned for drivers younger than 18. Teens caught with a phone in hand while driving will be slapped with a $50 fine.

Comments

Sounds like an officious cop's bill of rights.

[hey!]

Suck up to the cop and maybe you'll get a pass; piss him off and you've just coincidentally committed a serious but ostensibly unrelated crime.

And unless they collect information on people "carefully and prudently" texting and driving (whatever the hell that is) we'll never know whether the law is the same for everyone... but I have a sneaking suspicion that it won't be.

Re:It is 100% illegal here even if it is turned of

[WheezyJoe]

I'd rather live in a socialist nanny state then get T-Boned by some damn fool texting his way straight through a red light.
Shucks, that nanny state might come in handy at the hospital for patching you back up after an accident like that.
In Trump country with the GOP in charge, first responders will be checking your credit rating before even bothering with expensive equipment like the jaws of life. Hell, you might not even be worth the foam to put the fire out - let it burn out on its own, haul off your dead ass together with your ruined car, send the towing bill with the collection agency after your next of kin.

Lawyers injecting confusion and doubt

[oldgraybeard]

So instead of having a simple concise law that can be enforced! NO texting while driving. We now have a useless law that brings in carelessness and intent.
Since it is so easy for government, lawyers and judges to interpret what someone was thinking and capable of.
I think this is just trial lawyers looking to make money when people die because of others carelessness and stupidity, but as long as the lawyers make big bucks. After all government is just what you can buy.

Would not work

[Misagon]

The point of having a law that bans texting while driving is to prevent accidents, not to punish people who cause accidents.
Therefore, having a law worded to ban only "careless or imprudent manner" is effectively pointless for prevention.
No idiot who is going to cause an accident will believe beforehand that they are going to do so. That is why accidents are called "accidents".

Define "texting while driving"

[Snotnose]

I check texts when at a red light. I do not check them barrelling 80 MPH down the freeway.

Yet California treats both cases equally. Oddly enough, I have a magazine in my car that I read while stopped at a red light. This is fine and dandy. So, um, What's This Feature?

Re:It is 100% illegal here even if it is turned of

[Gavagai80]

There is no possible legitimate reason for a driver to be holding a cell phone at a red light. The drivers behind you do not want to have to hit their horn to make you move when the light changes, nor do we want to bet our lives on the idea that you'll definitely release the phone when you start driving. You're impeding traffic at best, attempting murder at worst. Powering down the phone is simply a trick people do when they see the cop coming to try to get out of a ticket, so of course it's illegal.