© 2024 Louisville Public Media

Public Files:
89.3 WFPL · 90.5 WUOL-FM · 91.9 WFPK

For assistance accessing our public files, please contact info@lpm.org or call 502-814-6500
89.3 WFPL News | 90.5 WUOL Classical 91.9 WFPK Music | KyCIR Investigations
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Stream: News Music Classical

Texting While Driving Now Costs 3 Points Against a Kentucky Driver's License

Texting while driving can now cost Kentucky drivers three points against their license.In August, Gov. Steve Beshear announced that he’d enacted emergency regulations adding the new penalty.The regulations went into effect in November after a legislative committee gave no objections, Transportation Cabinet spokesman Ryan Watts says.“It’s more of an aggressive approach to getting drivers towards getting drivers to put down their cell phones and other text message-related devices and start concentrating on the road before them," Watts says.Now, drivers cited for texting while driving will lose three points against their license. The Transportation Cabinet can suspend a license if a driver gets more than 12 points in a two-year span. For drivers younger than 18, the threshold is seven points.Watts acknowledged that law enforcement has had issues enforcing the no texting while driving law passed by state legislators in 2012.“But we want to give them the tools for them to hopefully enforce this along the way," Watts says.In August, Beshear said distracted driving, which includes texting, was the cause of about 35,600 Kentucky traffic accidents in 2012.(Image via Shutterstock)

Joseph Lord is the online managing editor for WFPL.