The Pima County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a “no texting while driving” ordinance this week.

Really, it’s a rule that should have been obvious even before an ordinance passed. Keeping your eyes on the road and off Facebook is a great idea—it usually makes you avoid crashing into another car or running over a pedestrian or biker.

The so-called Use of Handheld Electronic Devices While Operating a Motor Vehicle ordinance will come into effect on June 16, the county says.

According to a Pima County press release, the ordinance states, “A person may not, while driving a motor vehicle on a highway, manually manipulate a handheld electronic device for any purpose other than to initiate, receive, or engage in voice communication.”

Because I guess some drivers find it extremely difficult to not text and drive, there will be a 30-day grace period starting on June 16, where drivers will only receive a written warning if caught texting. After the grace period, texting and driving will be considered a civil traffic offense.

State  Sen. Steve Farley, who since 2007 has continuously tried to pass bills in the state Legislature prohibiting texting and driving, testified at the Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday in support of the ordinance.

“…When the law goes into effect, the roads will be safer for all of us Southern Arizonans,” he wrote on his Facebook page later that day. “Next year, with Sen. [Andy] Biggs no longer in the Legislature, we will get this done statewide after more than a decade of hard work.”

This article appears in May 19-25, 2016.

I was born and raised in Guatemala City, Guatemala. I moved to Tucson about 10 years ago. Since I was old enough to enjoy reading, I developed an interest in writing, and telling stories through different...

7 replies on “Come Mid-June, Pima County Will Fine You for Texting and Driving”

  1. We won’t be safe until they fix the roads. Have you driven Valencia east from the airport? They should be forced to.

  3. The Tucson ordinance isn’t being enforced, why should we think Pima County will perform any better?

  4. SonaranWinds: Why should we think Pima County will be better than Tucson? Because PC banned using electronic devices while operating a motor vehicle.

    The medias reporting is mostly inaccurate on the new ordinance. It is NOT a texting while driving ban but an ordinance banning using any electronic device while driving, such as, GPS, MP3, camera, etc.

    You may receive calls and talk on the phone while driving but you may not dial.

    These ordinances are mostly ‘feel-good’ to placate the supervisors electorate because there is a lot of difficulty on the enforcement side.

  5. “A person may not, while driving a motor vehicle on a highway, manually manipulate a handheld electronic device for any purpose other than to initiate, receive, or engage in voice communication.”

    So manually punching in a phone number or going through your contacts to make a voice call is okay, but not tapping graphical icons in a navigation program? Of course, the deputy can’t tell what you’re doing until after you’ve been pulled over, but now he or she has a pretext for looking for other stuff.

  6. Wait for the next legislative session in a place called Maricopa. If they find out, they will pass legislation to ban cities and counties from doing those damn safety laws!!!!

  7. Wait I’m confused, this only applies to highways??? So all the idiots texting and driving in the city every day, swerving in and out of lanes, and rear-ending people who stop at red lights, they’re going to be able to continue doing this?

Comments are closed.