According to multiple Idaho Press-Tribune reports 3rd District Court Judge Renae Hoff was arrested early Saturday morning in Meridian, Idaho, and taken to the Ada County Jail. She was released the next morning on bond pending a trial. According to police records she registered a .08 on a breathalyzer test administered at the Meridian Police Department. Oh, how she likely felt the sting of that that breathalyzer test like so many before her.

There is a lesson to be learned here, and it’s not a “gotcha” lesson. It’s a simple fact: we’re all human. We all possess the same ability to make mistakes; to demonstrate poor judgement, experience ‘bad luck’ and suffer the consequences of our actions. But none of this is an excuse for driving under the influence of alcohol.

The law does not allow us to take our own life in our hands, nor the lives of everyone else sharing the road with us, simply because we made a bad decision. And the police do not choose sides. They simply pull over driver exhibiting poor driving behavior (as she allegedly was) and follow procedure. It might a judge behind the wheel of the automobile they pull-it might be their own mother-but whomever it is, they have to face the music if they are caught drunk driving.

No ifs, ands or buts about it.

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Needless to say the accident has garnered national attention for proponents of a nationwide distracted driving ban and specifically a ban on texting while driving. It seems likely that given the driver, Brian J. Anderson, 22, of Idaho Falls, survived the crash without any serious injuries, and that he was texting as he collided with the parked patrol car, he might just because the poster child for the dangers of texting while driving.

Repeated studies have shown that drivers who text behind the wheel are at a much higher risk of having a serious accident, or even causing or suffering a fatality while engaging in this behavior. A recent study by the National Traffic Safety Administration showed that distracted driving now causes more traffic fatalities than crashes caused by driving under the influence of alcohol.

Despite these studies many drivers continue to engage in dangerous behavior behind the wheel. They text, talk on their cell phones; chat with passengers in their vehicle or even just fiddle with their radio while they are supposed to be focused on their driving. All pf these behaviors are considered part of the distracted driving problem, and police and legislators continue to struggle with ways to control it and reduce the number of deadly crashes which happen as a result of it.

But clearly, striking a parked police car because you are too busy texting to notice the car right in front of you should be enough of a reminder that distracted driving is not only stupid it also about the most dangerous thing you can do behind the wheel.

By the way, the Idaho ban on distracted driving goes into effect on July 1, so Anderson was cited for “inattentive driving.”

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This is the first in what many believe will become a huge exodus away from paper ‘proofs’ to digital ‘proofs.’ And it make sense.

Smartphones and other electronic handheld devices are ubiquitous. And just about every company already provides electronic access to features, accounts, profile and other information. It just a small step for these companies to create and offer free apps which provide the legal documentation required.

Last week Idaho Governor Butch Otter signed SB 1319 which allows Idaho drivers to either show proof of coverage with a smartphone App or even just a PDF copy saved on their phone. For those without such devices the traditional hard copy proof of insurance card will still be accepted.

The new Idaho bill passed the Senate unanimously, and passed the house with only one “nay” vote. This is due not just to the fact the new legislation is expected to save money, both for insurance providers and the insured, but also to make it easier for drivers to prove they are insured in the event of a traffic stop or vehicle crash.

Idaho may have been the first state to allow digital proof of insurance, but other states already have pending legislation that will do much the same thing. Alabama will soon publish regulation which allows motorists to electronically display electronic proof of insurance at registration and during traffic stops starting next year. The Arizona Legislature has approved legislation which allows motorists to display proof of insurance electronically and is currently awaiting final approval from the governor and in California, legislation allowing insurers to provide proof of insurance to a mobile electronic device is currently working its way through the House.

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This latest move comes on the heels of a report by the National Transportation Safety Board calling for every state to take steps to curb the use of handheld devices by drivers. According to the NTSB there is no more dangerous way to drive than “distracted”, eclipsing even the danger of driving under the influence of drugs or alcohol.

Already 35 states and the nation’s capital, Washington D.C. have total bans on texting and driving, with some going farther and barring the use of any handheld device by drivers.

If there is a complete and utter opposite of defensive driving it is distracted driving because your attention is clearly not on the task at hand (driving) but rather on what is in your hand, like a smartphone. Studies have shown that even the use of a hands-free device is enough of a distraction to limit your ability to drive and operate your vehicle safely. This fact has been borne out in repeated studies by groups around the world.

Idaho lawmakers are trying to make the roads a safer place by limiting the use of handheld devices. While they are not seeking a total ban on the use of all hand held devices they are seeking to limit how those devices are used. Starting with a limit on something which clearly involves taking your eyes off the road and your hands off the wheel of your car, they are trying to keep drivers from hurting themselves and others.

Lawmakers are looking to allow exceptions to the law for police and other emergency workers, but otherwise all drivers would be required to obey the ban, making Idaho a much safer place to drive.

Image: sippakorn / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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