New MA Texting Ban to Take Effect in October

Do you ever leave the house feeling like something is completely amiss but you can’t put your finger on what exactly it is? I experienced this very recently and I seriously felt as though, if I could lose a limb, I was missing an arm. And would anyone like to take a guess as to what I actually had been missing? My cell phone! And I was in my car when I realized it…so you know what I did? I turned around to pick it up!

Saying something like, “I feel incomplete without it” is what you would say about your spouse, not an electronic device. But the reality is, in this day and age, we have developed such a dependence upon our cell phones and, when it comes to driving, it’s become dangerous. So legislators in Massachusetts are attempting to do something about it. According to an article on Boston.com, beginning in October, a texting while driving ban will take effect. The article continues, “The texting ban covers e-mailing, Internet searching, and other non-calling activity on a phone, laptop, or handheld electronic device by anyone operating a motor vehicle.” If you are found to be in violation of this new law, you will be fined, but “the offense will not be considered a moving violation and will not result in an insurance surcharge.”

For more information about this new law, see the article and visit the MA Legislative website.

Of course, if you have any questions about Reading MA Car Insurance, Reading MA Homeowners Insurance, Reading MA Life Insurance or Reading MA Business Insurance, we’d love to help! Contact your local Encharter Insurance agent today. You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Reading MA. And now, be sure to find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!

At Encharter, “It’s all about protecting you!”

Distracted Driving Facts and Tips

The recent ban on texting in MA while driving, brings up the issue of distracted driving.  There are plenty of opportunities, aside from texting, to become distracted. Ranging from internet use and “app” purchasing on Smartphones to entering an address into a GPS, Encharter recommends that you drive safely by pulling over to a well-lit parking lot or shoulder on the side of the road, or even a gas station, before using these electronics.

According to CNBC, an experiment was conducted by Car and Driver Magazine to show just how much distracted driving can impair your abilities; maybe even more so than drunk driving! These were the results for reaction time for braking:

• Unimpaired: .54 seconds to brake
• Legally drunk: add 4 feet
• Reading e-mail: add 36 feet
• Sending a text: add 70 feet

 

For those of you that still aren’t convinced that distracted driving is dangerous, look at these additional facts and articles (and even a film if you are interested!):

The Transportation Safety Group at the National Safety Council found that distracted drivers account for nearly 80 percent of car crashes.

“In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes that involved distracted driving.” – National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in LA

MBTA: Conductor in Boston trolley crash was texting his girlfriend

COW – “It’s all about Cassie COWan – a nice girl from a nice Gwent valleys family – who kills four people on the road because she used her mobile and lost her concentration for a few seconds.”

At Encharter Insurance, we want you to be as safe as possible on the road and avoid dangerous driving habits. If you have any questions about Reading Car Insurance, Reading Life Insurance, Reading Homeowner’s Insurance or Reading Business Insurance, we’d like to help! You can call us at 888-865-1244, you can visit our virtual insurance office at www.encharter.com or you can visit our office for insurance in Reading MA. And now, you can find us on Twitter© and Facebook©!