Is “Driving While a Hypocrite” Against the Law?

In Portland, compulsion to use mobile devices collides with call to action to prevent it.

Insurance Networking News, November 17, 2011

Pat Speer

People in Portland, Ore. are mad as hell at distracted drivers and they’re not going to take it any more, according to a poll conducted by PEMCO Insurance. The problem is: some of those same drivers admit to the driving-while-distracted behavior, violating safe driving laws on a regular basis.

In the Greater Portland area, one in three drivers are likely breaking the law by using a cell phone without a hands-free device, and about one in four are texting or e-mailing while driving, according to drivers surveyed in the PEMCO study.

The poll revealed that nearly half of Portland-area drivers are upset enough at the prospect of sharing the road with distracted drivers that they are calling on lawmakers to treat those caught talking, texting or e-mailing while driving more harshly.

Yet of the Portland-area drivers surveyed in the PEMCO Insurance Northwest Poll, 31 percent of those same drivers said they use their cell phones without a hands-free device while driving, and of those violators, 26 percent admit they use their cell phone to text or e-mail while they're behind the wheel.

Still, a full 42 percent of respondents said that texting violations – a primary offense in Oregon – are serious enough to warrant more than the accompanying $142 fine. And a majority – 55 percent – think that violations for handheld phones and texting should become part of a driver's record.

"Distracted-driving laws are becoming common across the U.S., and for good reason," said PEMCO spokesperson Jon Osterberg. "Distracted driving is dangerous, and while our poll results show that most drivers agree, we need to raise awareness to help lower the number of drivers who are focused on their phones rather than on the road."

In January 2010, it became a primary offense to use a handheld mobile device while driving in Oregon, which includes texting and sending e-mails from a cell phone and talking without a hands-free accessory. Fines of at least $142 are levied against violators, and the current law does not mandate that the citation become part of a driver's record.

PEMCO's poll found that almost one in three drivers – 32 percent – think the fine should be at least $250 for texting while driving, and 15 percent think $500 or higher is a more appropriate fine for violating texting laws. And one-third of all Portland drivers agree that merely talking on a handheld phone while driving warrants a fine greater than $142.

Those drivers more inclined to commit offenses are more likely to believe the current fines are excessive, according to the poll. Only 13 percent of all Portland-area drivers said the fine should be reduced because the texting offense isn't serious enough to justify the $142 price tag. Drivers under age 35 are also significantly more likely than their older counterparts to say that the fine – for either texting or talking – is too steep.

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