Eric Connor

econnor@greenvillenews.com

The city of Greenville's ban on talking on a hand-held device while driving is null and void now that Gov. Nikki Haley has signed a new statewide texting ban into law.

The signing means that city police can no longer pull motorists over simply for talking on their phones, a law that had been in place just two months before state Legislators passed a ban on texting while driving that overrides any local ordinances.

The news comes with a sense of relief for those who thought the city went too far in taking mobile devices completely out of drivers' hands.

For others, putting phones back up to drivers' ears — particularly teens — is a cause for concern.

The law now in effect across South Carolina leaves Montana as the only state in the U.S. without a texting ban.

The new restrictions address only composing, sending or reading a text-based communication while a driver is in motion, according to the bill signed by Haley.

Text-based communication is allowed when stopped, such as at a stop sign or red light. However, the state Department of Public Safety says even the slightest movement — rolling in a car line, creeping in a traffic jam — counts as a violation.

The fine is $25, with a maximum $50 fine for any subsequent offense. A violation isn't reported to insurance and doesn't count against points on a driver's license.

Only warnings can be written in the first six months.

Law enforcement officers can pull drivers over if they have a clear view and probable cause, but they can't seize a phone to prove a driver was texting, nor can they initiate a search of a vehicle without probable cause for another violation.

The city says this will make the state's law difficult to enforce.

Greenville had passed the most-restrictive distracted-driving laws of the state's 19 cities that adopted texting bans. The fine for a first offense in Greenville was $100, with the fines escalating with each offense.

The city decided an outright ban on using hand-held devices would be easiest to enforce. The city's ordniance allowed for hands-free use, including Bluetooth technology and placing a phone in a holster and talking on speaker.

The state Legislature struggled for years to agree on a texting ban, prompting local governments to adopt laws that created discrepancies from one jurisdiction to the next.

In original language in this year's bill, the state had proposed to ban all use of cellphones in school zones and for restricted drivers, but the language was removed before Haley's signature.

The state Department of Public Safety's statistics since 2010 show a steady rate of crashes related to distraction, cell phone use and texting specifically.

Since 2010, statewide there have been 58,013 collisions with 32,104 injured and 212 killed related to driver distraction or inattention, according the department's newest data, which includes the first half of this year.

In the same period, cell phone use in general has resulted in 1,802 collisions with 901 injured and 12 killed.

Texting alone resulted in 306 collisions, 161 injured and two deaths since 2011, when law enforcement first began compiling texting crash data.

The numbers don't encompass all cases of texting-related crashes, because the data is drawn from drivers who self-report their texting activity, and other distractions such as food, radio or other occupants can contribute.