Some Texters Not Deterred By New Driving Ban

In less than an hour, the dangerous and sometimes deadly practice of texting while driving will be outlawed in North Carolina.

That will happen after midnight.

However, the new law does not ban people from texting in their cars altogether.

We went looking for drivers who text tonight and they didn't seem too shy about doing it.

In the dark of night with cars coming and going, you don't have to look too hard to spot someone letting their fingers do the talking.

"Well, I do it all the time so," said Anna Sanford.

"I have, oh yeah, definitely,” said Kaitlin Merenda. “I mean I think I'm good at it, but I don't do it all the time. I get yelled at."

"Somebody text me and I'm driving, I don't wait til I get somewhere to text them back,” said Trey Shehdan. “I just go ahead and make it snappy. Maybe wait til I'm at a red light."

That's one way to avoid paying the $100 fine.

The law says it's ok to text if you're lawfully parked or stopped.

So, what does lawfully stopped mean?

State troopers say it's as long as you're not moving.

They recommend drivers pull over altogether, but if you're stuck at a stop sign or a red light, you've got the green light to text.

Determining who is actually texting figures to be tough to enforce.

However, in a little more than an hour in rainy conditions on a few different streets, we spotted 19 drivers texting.

Ten of them were moving at the time."

"I think it's dangerous, but I think everybody does it," Shehdan said.

"I know this is bad to say, but I'll probably still do it anyways," Sanford said.

"If enough people start getting tickets, I think the word will get around,” Merenda said. “But, I don't think until people actually get tickets, people will really think about it like that."

There's also a gray area.

Because talking on the phone while driving is allowed, it's ok to dial.

That could make it hard for police to stick to the letter of the law.

That last point is interesting because we saw a lot more people talking on the phone while driving than texting.

It wasn't even close.

And, not hands free either.

Drivers had one hand on the wheel and the other holding the phone.

That's still ok.

Just no more texting or reading those texts after midnight.