Reading Police Cracking Down on Texting Drivers

The Reading Police Department is joining with 191 departments statewide to crack down on texting drivers.

“Driving and texting is illegal and irresponsible,” said Reading Lt. David Stamatis. “People who break our state’s texting law will be stopped and fined. If you drive and text, you will pay.”

Massachusetts’ texting law, which went into effect in 2010, states that adult drivers who “write, send or read electronic messages or browse the Internet while driving face a $100 fine for a first offense”

Take note: This applies even if the vehicle is stopped in traffic.

Juvenile drivers are prohibited from using their phones at all while driving -- even to make phone calls. The penalty for breaking the law is a $100 fine and a 60-day license suspension.

“Texting and driving requires motorists to take their eyes off the road, hands off the wheel, and mind off the task of driving,” said Deputy Chief Mark Segalla. “It creates the proverbial ‘perfect storm’ for a crash, and no one has the right to put another person’s life at risk like that.”

The statewide focus on stopping drivers who text begins on April 10 and continues through May 1. The effort is made possible through a federal grant administered through the Executive Office of Public Safety and Security’s Highway Safety Division (EOPSS/HSD) from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA).

Read the complete press release.