Starting Nov. 1, text messaging addicts will have to keep their fingers off the keypad when behind the wheel. New York state will become the 18th state to ban texting while driving.

The law will prohibit drivers from text messaging because of the dangers presented by cell phone use while driving. Drivers will be fined a maximum of $150 if they are pulled over for violating the law. Previously, only talking on a cell phone while driving was illegal.

For some Ithaca College students, not being able to text while driving may be an adjustment. Junior Sarah Craig, a New York resident, said she tries not to text when driving because she realizes it can be dangerous but still finds herself doing it

at times.  

“It depends on the level of importance of something, but if I’m trying to talk to someone and I feel that it’s important, I’ll stop at a stop sign and text them real quick,” Craig said.

According to a study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute done in July, drivers who texted while driving were 23 times more likely to crash or come close to getting into wrecks than drivers who are not distracted. The study said in the moments before a crash, drivers spent nearly five seconds looking at their cell phones — not the road.

Captain Derek Osborne of the Tompkins County Sheriff’s Department said statistics on accidents in the county involving text messaging are hard to determine because the people involved will not usually admit to police officers if they were using their cell phones.

“It’s very rare that we’re able to find somebody or be able to prove that one of the parties in the accident was actually texting,” Osborne said.

Sophomore Amanda Sawnor said she has felt uncomfortable in situations involving her friends texting and driving while she is in the car.

“Recently, I was on the way to the mall with my friend, and we had to go on the thruway. We were going on the ramp and she’s texting and I had to tell her ‘Sarah, watch the road,’ because she was about to veer off,” Sawnor said.

Sawnor said she thinks the new law is a good idea but is skeptical as to how it will be carried out.

“I’d like to think it would [make an impact], but I’m not sure if it can really be enforced or will be enforced,” she said. “I still see people driving around and talking on their cell phones all the time even if cops are around.”

The Governors Highway Safety Association — a nonprofit organization that represents U.S. states and territories — regulates federal and state highway funds to make state highway safety plans.

The Governors Highway Safety Association’s communications manager Kara Macek said the board had met at its annual meeting in Savannah, Ga., and decided to change its policy to recommend that all states pass a law banning texting while driving. They had not previously taken a position, though they did discourage texting and driving.

“Given the increased amount of states that are already enacting texting bans, accompanied by the more recent polls and surveys [and] research studies that have come out that show just how dangerous it is, we wanted to take a leadership role,” Macek said.

Macek said an important question starting Nov. 1 is how the law will be enforced. She said Ray LaHood, secretary of the Department of Transportation, has called a Distraction Summit that will take place in October to discuss distractions drivers face. She said she hopes GHSA can work with other organizations to find a solution.

“We’re hoping that out of that summit, they’ll have some more ideas, but we really haven’t solved that problem yet,” Macek said. “We’re looking to work with other groups to come up with solutions because that remains a challenge.”

The second part of the new law includes taking safer measures for new drivers. New drivers will need 30 additional supervised driving hours before they can take a road test. Only one person under the age of 21 will be allowed in the car with a

new driver.

Osborne said people need to be aware that there are plenty of distractions that can cause accidents and are not limited to cell phones.

“The bigger picture that people need to realize is that what causes accidents is the driver and his attention,” he said. “Distractions can be anything. It’s not just cell phones.”