ANew Jersey assemblyman is planning to introduce legislation that would criminalize text messaging while operating a moving public transportation vehicle, dovetailing with already existing legislation pertaining to people in cars.
Drafted by Assemblyman Patrick J. Diegnan (D-18th District), the bill was written in response to a deadly train wreck in California in which 25 people died. Investigators are exploring whether the train engineer was text-messaging during the incident and did not notice a stop signal at the rails, causing the collision.
The legislation would count text messaging while operating a public transportation vehicle as a disorderly persons offense, leading to a $1,000 fine, six months’ imprisonment or both, unless it’s an emergency.
Diegnan said the California train wreck led him to be aware that text-messaging when operating a moving vehicle was more common than he thought, prompting the drafting of the bill.
“I’m sure you see it yourself, even though we have the cell phone ban in New Jersey, it’s impossible to drive down the Turnpike without seeing some person on their phone, and I have seen people textmessaging. … A car is a potentially deadly weapon, and it’s just crazy. And it’s a shame we have to put in laws like this, but based on this tragedy, [we must] and I’m sure it’s more common than you think,” he said.
The assemblyman introduced the legislation during a special session on Oct. 16 and he is currently working to gather support for the bill among his colleagues.
Diegnan said it is his hope that knowledge of this law in and of itself will discourage people from text-messaging when they are supposed to be driving a train.
“Hopefully, just the potential penalty itself will discourage people from doing it, but anyone else, witnesses, seeing it done, [like] supervisors, would have the ability to at least warn the person that they are at least violating the law. But enforcement is always problematic — very rarely do people get pulled over in their cars — but I do believe putting in place a potential penalty does discourage people,” said Diegnan.