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New Law Passed in Virginia Prohibiting Texting While Driving

You've seen them.  Drivers traveling at highway speeds while reading or tapping on their handheld devices.  Kind of scary.

Well, Virginia is now among the growing number of states that have responded to this dangerous behavior that has resulted in increasingly serious accidents related to drivers who find it necessary to read or send text messages while they are driving.  At the General Assembly session that just ended, Virginia passed a law prohibiting operation of a motor vehicle while using any handheld personal communication device to manually enter text or to read a text message. 

Interestingly, there are certain activities that are NOT included in the prohibition:  GPS, reading caller identification information, and using a device to report an emergency.

The law becomes effective July 1, 2009.