Tuesday, July 16, 2013

WSP Claims Texting Is Causing Low Speed Collisions

People who text and drive may be causing low speed collisions.
KREM 2 News reports that the Washington State Patrol says they've seen an increase in accidents happening at low speeds and that people seem to feel comfortable checking their phones when they're travelling slow.

Troopers say this is only a suspicion at this point. They don't have the data to back it up because they don't  have legal authority to search cell phones for evidence in minor collisions. And of course drivers deny it when asked if they were texting and driving.

Washington troopers cited over 1,000 drivers last year for texting at the wheel. Over 6,600 drivers were cited for talking on phones without using a hands free device.  Cell phone violation fines are $124 and possibly more if the violation results in a collision.


 

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About SRTC

SRTC is the federally designated Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) for Spokane County. Urbanized areas with populations exceeding 50,000 people are required to have an MPO. SRTC was formed to address the county's transportation planning needs. It provides coordination in planning between the public, cities, small towns, the county, the state, transit providers, and tribes.

SRTC offers services including transportation monitoring, transportation modeling, census information analysis, travel demand forecasting, historical traffic count analysis, geographic information systems, and trip generation rates.