Is the distracted driving law in Massachusetts being ignored?
BOSTON -- You probably see it every time you drive, walk, or ride your bike: other drivers typing away on their phones.
For three years now, texting, emailing, and holding your phone to your ear have been illegal in Massachusetts.
Yet many people feel distracted driving is still an issue.
WBZ-TV parked on the corner of Newbury Street and Massachusetts Avenue in Boston recently to find out more. While sitting in the passenger seat, I used a selfie stick the size of a fishing rod to reel in a few interviews.
Only one dance party was interrupted. "It's not safe honestly to be texting and driving but I'm just dancing!" she said.
According to AAA, 40% of drivers admit to sending texts and emails while on the road -- and that's just the ones who admit it.
This year, 32,000 drivers have gotten a written warning. But how many people are getting tickets?
In 2020, a pandemic year, there were 7,890 citations. In 2021, there were 12,839. This year, we're on pace to have 15,000.
If five million drivers are on the road every day, that's 40 tickets per day on average statewide.
State Senator Mark Montigny was one of the authors of the bill that became law. He knows the police are busy but he would like to see more tickets until people really change their bad habits.
"For now, I want to see far more enforcement -- 30 or 40 a day, give me a break. There are thousands and thousands of infractions every day that should be cited," said Montigny.
Back in the 1930s, Massachusetts almost banned radios in cars, worried they'd be a distraction.