THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2009
NEWS
3A
LEGAL
Some see mixed signals in laws on texting and driving
ASSOCIATED PRESS
Fiddling with your iPhone behind the wheel can get you fined across much of the nation. But many states are more than happy to tweet you with up-to-
A billboard that encourages people not to text while they drive is shown in the north side of Indianapolis Thursday. Indiana drivers under age 18 are banned from using a cell phone while driving. Some lawmakers and safety experts have criticized states that penalize people who drive and text but still send traffic updates via Twitter.
the-minute directions on how to steer clear of a traffic jam.
It is a mixed signal that some safety experts and politicians say could be dangerous.
At least 22 states that ban texting while driving offer some type of service that allows
motorists to get information about traffic tie-ups, road conditions or emergencies via Twitter.
ASSOCIATED PRESS
"You shouldn't be fiddling around with any kind of electronic gadget in your car while driving," said Minnesota state Rep. Frank Hornstein, who helped write his state's no-texting-while-driving law.
Many of these laws essentially bar people from fooling with their smart phones in any way behind the wheel; in some cases, just reading from a mobile device is against the law.
Nineteen states and the District of Columbia have banned all texting while driving, and eight others prohibit texting by younger drivers only, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association.
Some supporters of text-messaging bans say that states that provide traffic information via Twitter are undermining these laws.
"I would guess that the states wouldn't intend to be sending a mixed message, but it sounds like it could be a mixed message," said Judie Stone, president of the Washington-based Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety.
"You shouldn't be fiddling around with any kind of electronic gadget in your car while driving."
State transportation officials say they are not encouraging people to get online behind the wheel. They say drivers should read their tweets before hitting the road.
In Washington state, for example
FRANK HORNSTEIN Minnesota state rep.
where citizens and transportation officials can exchange messages about the latest traffic, the feed includes regular reminders not to use the service while driving.
"Know before you go" said one feed this week.
Drivers should "check our Web site before leaving. If you're at your office, before you leave and there's an issue on the roadway, it might alter your travel plans home," said Randy Ort, spokesman for the Arkansas Highway and Transportation Department.
The Arkansas ban on texting while driving goes into effect Oct. 1; this week, the state became the latest to provide road conditions via Twitter, the microblogging service that lets people read and send messages of 140 characters or fewer.
Other places offering traffic information via Twitter include: California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas, Utah and Virginia.
The apparent conflict results from two arms of government with seemingly good intentions: transportation departments that want to help motorists cope with traffic, and legislatures that are worried about the deadly consequences of distracted driving.
While Washington state lets motorists tweet about traffic conditions, in most states the flow of information is one-way — from state officials to drivers.
Some states, such as New York and Indiana, send lots of up-to-the-minute information. Others just tweet intermittently, or reserve Twitter for emergencies. Mississippi, for example, intends to use its service during hurricane evacuations.
Maine has employed Twitter only to update drivers on an interstate highway project in the Portland area. Nebraska plans to use Twitter during winter weather emergencies. Oregon officials notify drivers about emergency road closings only.
"We don't ing their tweets while they're driving," said Sally Ridenour, spokeswoman for the Oregon Department of Transportation.
"We don't want people read-
In Washington state, the 6,200 users can also request estimated
travel times, mountain pass reports and waiting times at the Canadian
border. Some users apparently just want to chat.
"We don't want people reading their tweet while they're driving."
"Got home, got changed, now heading back to seattle for the
SALLY RIDENOUR
Oregon Transportation
Dept. spokeswoman
Mariners game. Keep the roads clear for me on 190 (at)WSDOT ;-) one user posted in late August. The reply from transit officials? "No promises, but we will do our best :) Enjoy the game!"
Others want to know why traffic isn't moving, "wsdot any
idea what's going on westbound on 520? it's worse than rush hour." a
user posted.
Within a few minutes, officials responded: "Yes! There is a disabled vehicle just east of Lk Wash Blvd blocking right lane."
MARIJUANA
ASSOCIATED PRESS
That kind of exchange, if conducted by drivers behind the wheel, troubles some safety experts.
"If you're sitting there and trying to update the world on the congestion you're in, you could be part of a collision," said Fairley Mahlum, spokeswoman for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety. "Did it really matter that you needed to tell everyone and their brother what the situation is? It's just not really not worth it."
Young marijuana plants are shown Tuesday in Seattle. Washington requires patients to grow marijuana themselves or designate a caregiver to grow it for them.
Washington's grow-it-yourself law on medical pot leads to confusion
ASSOCIATED PRESS
SEATTLE — In one corner of Washington state, a 62-year-old rheumatoid arthritis-
tis patient could face more than eight years in prison for growing marijuana for himself and three others. In Seattle, meanwhile, a collection of grow operations serves 2,000 people with little interference from police.
The discrepancy is typical of the confusion that has reigned since voters passed Washington's medical marijuana law more than a decade ago. Nor have things improved much since the state clarified how much pot patients can have last year.
Unlike some states, Washington requires patients to grow marijuana themselves or designate a caregiver to grow it for them. For many, that's unrealistic: They're too sick to grow
"The spirit of the law would recognize the necessity of having small cooperative ventures."
DAN SATTERBERG King County prosecutor
lishing collective grows or storefront dispensaries — methods that are making police and prosecutors increasingly uncomfortable.
"The spirit of the law would recognize the necessity of having small cooperative ventures," said Dan
cannabis themselves and don't have the thousands of dollars it can cost for a caregiver to set up a proper growing operation.
So they've devised their own schemes, claiming to meet the letter of the law in estab-
Satterberg, the prosecutor in King County, where Seattle is. "But if you get past a certain size, become a magnet for neighborhood violence, or you get other people showing up to buy marijuana who are not permitted to under the law, then there's tension."
Three years ago, Satterberg's office declined to prosecute a man who was growing 130 plants for 40 people. But a case this year may be testing his tolerance; He hasn't decided whether to charge a hepatitis patient caught with 200 plants, which he claimed supplied more than 100 other patients.
Some activists and the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington recently began discussions with Seattle police over whether to limit the size of cooperative grows.
In Spokane this month, police shut down a medical marijuana dispensary — the first such bust in the state — and arrested the two owners. They warned a half-dozen other dispensaries to close as well, and the raid quickly drew protests from patients. The raid has set up a high-profile court fight.
Approved by voters in 1998, it allows doctors to recommend cannabis as a treatment for a series of debilitating or terminal conditions — a smaller range of illnesses than California's law. A year ago, the state issued guidelines to give police and patients alike an idea of how much pot was OK; Up to 15 plants and 24 ounces of dried marijuana per patient. People can have more if they demonstrate need.
Police in some jurisdictions have applied the guidelines strictly, arresting people simply for having more than 15 plants, even if they possessed no usable marijuana.
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