Illinois Distracted Driving Laws Take Effect in January

Two new laws taking effect in January will ban the practice of texting while driving in Illinois. A backer of the measures calls them an important first step, but not enough. Gloria Wilhelm's son Matt died in Urbana in 2006. The bicyclist was struck by a motorist who later admitted to downloading a ring tone while behind the wheel.

And Wilhelm suspects it's the cause of more accidents than is being reported. "There's a lot of fatalities out there that haven't really been attributed to this, but there's some unknown causes," says Wilhelm. "So something is causing people to go into another lane and hit someone head on. I think this is a very good start. I really think it's more dangerous than drunk driving because it's more pervasive. More people are talking and texting than driving drunk." The distracted driving laws will also ban instant messaging, personal digital assistants, and portable computers, as well as all cell phone use while driving through a highway construction zone or school zone.

Wilhelm questions why driving everywhere else is so much safer, but says U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood could one day seek legislation that bans cell phone use while driving outright. Wilhelm also notes that more employers are banning cell phone use while driving on business to avoid a possible lawsuit.