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2013 SESSION

13103497D
SENATE BILL NO. 1238
Offered January 9, 2013
A BILL to amend and reenact § 46.2-341.20 of the Code of Virginia, to amend the Code of Virginia by adding a section numbered 46.2-853.1, and to repeal § 46.2-1078.1 of the Code of Virginia, relating to unlawful texting while driving; penalty.
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Patron-- Barker
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Referred to Committee on Transportation
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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1.  That § 46.2-341.20 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted and that the Code of Virginia is amended by adding a section numbered 46.2-853.1 as follows:

§ 46.2-341.20. Disqualification for multiple serious traffic violations.

A. For the purposes of this section, the following offenses, if committed in a commercial motor vehicle, are serious traffic violations:

1. Driving at a speed 15 or more miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limits;

2. Reckless driving;

3. A violation of a state law or local ordinance relating to motor vehicle traffic control arising in connection with a fatal traffic accident;

4. Improper or erratic traffic lane change;

5. Following the vehicle ahead too closely;

6. Driving a commercial motor vehicle without obtaining a commercial driver's license;

7. Driving a commercial motor vehicle without a commercial driver's license in the driver's immediate possession;

8. Driving a commercial motor vehicle without the proper class of commercial driver's license and/or endorsements for the specific vehicle group being operated or for the passengers or type of cargo being transported; and

9. A violation of § 46.2-1078.1 Texting while driving in violation of § 46.2-853.1 or a substantially similar law of any other jurisdiction.

For the purposes of this section, parking, vehicle weight, and vehicle defect violations shall not be considered traffic violations.

B. Beginning September 30, 2005, the following offenses shall be treated as serious traffic violations if committed while operating a noncommercial motor vehicle, but only if (i) the person convicted of the offense was, at the time of the offense, the holder of a commercial driver's license; (ii) the offense was committed on or after September 30, 2005; and (iii) the conviction, by itself or in conjunction with other convictions that satisfy the requirements of this section, resulted in the revocation, cancellation, or suspension of such person's driver's license or privilege to drive.

1. Driving at a speed 15 or more miles per hour in excess of the posted speed limits;

2. Reckless driving;

3. A violation of a state law or local ordinance relating to motor vehicle traffic control arising in connection with a fatal traffic accident;

4. Improper or erratic traffic lane change; or

5. Following the vehicle ahead too closely.

C. The Department shall disqualify for the following periods of time, any person whose record as maintained by the Department shows that he has committed, within any three-year period, the requisite number of serious traffic violations:

1. A 60-day disqualification period for any person convicted of two serious traffic violations; or

2. A 120-day disqualification period for any person convicted of three serious traffic violations.

D. Any disqualification period imposed pursuant to this section shall run consecutively, and not concurrently, with any other disqualification period imposed hereunder.

§ 46.2-853.1. Reckless driving; texting while driving; exceptions; penalty.

A. For the purposes of this section, "emergency vehicle" means:

1. Any law-enforcement vehicle operated by or under the direction of a federal, state, or local law-enforcement officer;

2. Any regional detention center vehicle operated by or under the direction of a correctional officer responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;

3. Any vehicle used to fight fire, including publicly owned state forest warden vehicles when traveling in response to a fire alarm or emergency call;

4. Any ambulance or rescue or life-saving vehicle designed or used for the principal purpose of supplying resuscitation or emergency relief where human life is endangered;

5. Any Department of Emergency Management vehicle or Office of Emergency Medical Services vehicle when responding to an emergency call or operating in an emergency situation;

6. Any Department of Corrections vehicle designated by the Director of the Department of Corrections when (i) responding to an emergency call at a correctional facility, (ii) participating in a drug-related investigation, (iii) pursuing escapees from a correctional facility, or (iv) responding to a request for assistance from a law-enforcement officer; and

7. Any vehicle equipped with alternating, blinking, or flashing red or red and white secondary warning lights pursuant to § 46.2-1029.2.

B. It is unlawful for any person to operate a moving motor vehicle on the highways of the Commonwealth while using any handheld personal communications device to (i) manually enter multiple letters or text in the device as a means of communicating with another person or (ii) read any email or text message transmitted to the device or stored within the device, provided that this prohibition shall not apply to any name or number stored in the device nor to any caller identification information. A violation of this section is punishable as reckless driving. However, upon the trial of any person charged with texting while driving where the degree of culpability is slight, the court in its discretion may find the accused not guilty of reckless driving but guilty of texting while driving. An attorney for the Commonwealth may reduce a charge of reckless driving to texting while driving at any time prior to the court's decision and shall notify the court of such change. Texting while driving shall be punishable as a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $50.

C. The provisions of this section shall not apply to (i) the operator of any emergency vehicle who is engaged in the performance of his official duties, (ii) an operator who is lawfully parked or stopped, (iii) the use of a factory-installed or aftermarket global positioning system (GPS), (iv) the use of a wireless communications device used to transmit or receive data as part of a digital dispatch system, or (v) an operator who uses a handheld personal communications device to report an emergency.

2.  That § 46.2-1078.1 of the Code of Virginia is repealed.