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It may be illegal, but Californians are still breaking the law. Texting behind the wheel has tripled in Southern California since 2009, according to a survey from AAA. Although the percentage is relatively low at 4.1 percent, it is three times higher than it was when the California state Assembly enacted a texting ban.

Cellphone cameras are fantastic gadgets. They allow us to capture those fleeting moments when a traditional camera would take forever to fish out. In a pinch, they’re a wonderful way to quickly share images with family and friends. But getting a nude photo of someone you barely know standing in front of a mirror is not one of the images we had in mind. “Sexting” is the transmission of explicit to downright pornographic images (usually self-portraits) via a cellphone or the Internet. The practice is so pervasive among teens that states such as Texas and New Jersey are attempting to...

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- A Louisville man is facing criminal charges after police said he caused a severe car crash by texting while driving to sell marijuana. According to arrest records, an officer saw 20-year-old Tyler M. Harris cause a collision by failing to yield the right of way to another vehicle. The officer saw Harris texting while driving, according to arrest records. Police said Harris and his car smelled strongly of marijuana. Harris admitted to police he was texting another person directions to meet him so Harris could sell him $60 worth of marijuana, according to arrest records.

A Lapeer, Mich., man who police say caused a fatal crash while texting and driving has been sentenced to just one month in jail and 12 months of probation. It was the first case of its kind since the state passed a ban on texting while driving last August. Some lawmakers say the penalties under texting-while-driving laws aren't harsh enough, and need to be changed. Penalties for drunk drivers who cause a fatality are much harsher -- some states include a four-year minimum prison sentence and a permanent driver's license suspension. Awareness of the dangers of texting-while-driving seem to be...

I am probably one of the few people in the Panhandle who did not vote for "Pretty Boy" Rick Perry in the past election. I voted for the ex-mayor of Houston, whose name I no longer remember. The only reason I remind you of that is because I want you to know I don't like his politics or anything else about him. I am a Republican, which means "pariah" these days. But I ramble. Gov. Perry vetoed the bill that former House Speaker Tom Craddick (from Midland) introduced to the Legislature. The young lady who died texting in Seagraves got...

Perry said that texting while driving "is reckless and irresponsible" but that he saw the bill as "a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults." "I am proud Texas will continue to live within its means while encouraging job creation and maintaining essential services," Perry said in a statement. "After thoroughly reviewing all legislation that reached my desk, there were some bills that would have done more harm than good to Texans, and I have used my authority to veto them."

Continuing a campaign initiated by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, the administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) addressed the Telematics Detroit 2011 conference with harsh words on the growing trend to integrate infotainment technology into cars. David Strickland told those assembled, “I’m just putting everyone on notice. A car is not a mobile device. I’m not in the business of helping people tweet better. I’m not in the business of helping people post on Facebook better.” That’s not to say that the NHTSA and DOT are opposed to all telematics applications. In fact, the agencies support systems...

BARRIE, Ont. - Police blame some serious distracted driving for a chain-reaction crash that caused more than $100,000 in damage after a teenager struck a parked car in this city north of Toronto. Police said the driver was texting and trying to pick up her cat when the collision happened. Cops said the teenager was speeding when she lost control of the car, left the roadway and struck a car parked in a driveway. It was pushed into a boat, which was also in the driveway. The boat was then pushed into the house and a neighbour's vehicle. The driver...

Ever been annoyed by a loud-talking patron at a film? Had that nail-biting darkened hallway scene ruined by someone turning on their phone to send a text? Well, one Texas theater has your back. Alamo Drafthouse, a local chain of dine-and-screen movie theaters in Austin, Texas, has long waged a war against impolite moviegoers. And the latest customer to object to their firm rules against talking and texting during an evening out has become the unwitting star of a PSA released by the company on Monday...

He told her he was a "caped crusader . . . looking for my sidekick." [SNIP] Weiss admitted that she began the racy relationship by playfully sending a message to Weiner's Facebook account in August saying, "I am trying to find the wonderful anthony weiner who i fell in love with for yelling at those damn repubs the other day! . . . you must friend me!" But while Weiner was champing at the bit to embark on a steamy online relationship over the next nine months, he was nowhere to be reached after the scandal broke. "He was a...

ShareBan on texting while driving goes to Perry The Texas Senate and House on Sunday approved a final version of a bill that will ban drivers from reading, writing or sending a text or e-mail while they are driving, among other things. “Being on the phone is a distraction, but nothing compares to texting,” said state Sen. Judith Zaffirini, D-Laredo, the Senate sponsor of the legislation. “It’s a dangerous practice.” She added the texting ban to a bill that extends the firearms proficiency certification period for retired federal peace officers. The Senate vote on the final version of the...

Government to send wireless messages to everyone with a mobile device. The government has your cell phone number, and it’s going to send you text messages whether you like it or not. Federal Communications Commission Chairman Julius Genachowski joined Federal Emergency Management Agency Administrator W. Craig Fugate in New York City on Tuesday to announce a multimillion dollar federal program that, in theory, will notify mobile phone users in times of grave emergency. Like so many Washington-centric ideas, this one was obsolete long before it got off the drawing board. Wireless phone providers have agreed to distribute “Homeland Security” messages...

When the state's hands-free cellphone law was enacted three years ago, the rules seemed so simple. Holding a phone in your hand to make a call would be illegal. Few ifs, buts or maybes. Then came a law against texting. Then came an explosion of phones that double as GPS devices, cameras, music players, voice recorders and email dispensers. And today, amid an unprecedented crackdown this month on cellphone scofflaws, what's legal and what's not has motorists and even some cops scratching their heads. "When you look for loopholes, the whole issue of cellphone use, texting or distracted driving becomes...

SENIORS TEXTING CODE : ATD - At The Doctors; BFF - Best Friend Fell; BTW - Bring the Wheelchair; BYOT - Bring Your Own Teeth; FWIW - Forgot Where I Was; GGPBL - Gotta Go Pacemaker Battery Low; GHA - Got Heartburn Again; IMHO - Is My Hearing-Aid On? LMDO - Laughing My Dentures Out; OMMR - On My Massage Recliner; ROFLACGU - Rolling On Floor Laughing And Can't Get Up. TTYL - Talk To You Louder

Texting teenagers who stay ‘on call’ all night pay the price in lost sleep Brookline 10th-grader Ashley Olafsson sleeps with her cellphone under her pillow so she doesn’t miss “emergency’’ texts — “like if a friend broke up with her boyfriend.’’ Stephanie Kimball of Waltham, 14, is also available for urgent overnight correspondence, such as, “Hey, seeing if you’re awake.’’ Dedham ninth-grader Courtney Johnson gets as many as 100 texts while in bed. “I just don’t feel like myself if I don’t have my phone near me or I’m not on it,’’ she said. Sure, all that middle-of-the-night communication leaves...

ATD At the Doctor's BFF: Best Friend Fell BTW: Bring the Wheelchair BYOT: Bring Your Own Teeth CMB: Covered by Medicare CUATSC: See you at the Senior Center DWI: Driving While Incontinent FWIW: Forgot Where I was FYI: Found Your Insulin GGPBL: Gotta Go, Pacemaker Battery Low HGBM: Had Good Bowel Movement GHA: Got Heartburn Again IMHO: Is My Hearing Aid On LMDO: Laughing My Dentures out LOL: Living on Lipitor OMSG: Oh My Sorry, Gas ROFL.CGU Rolling on the floor Laughing and Can't get UP SGGP: Sorry Gotta go Poop TTYL; Talk to You Louder WTP: Where's the prunces...

DANVERS (MA)— A driver who police said was texting behind the wheel managed to escape serious injury late Sunday night after his car plunged off the Water Street bridge and into the Waters River. Police plan to summons Gerald Maher, 21, of 195 Maple St., Danvers, to court for negligent operation of a motor vehicle and texting while driving, police Capt. Pat Ambrose said. The charge of texting behind the wheel carries a civil fine. Just where the car — a white, 1999 Nissan Altima — landed in the river remained a mystery yesterday. Maher, who was alone in the...

A Fort Myers man is under investigation after he allegedly sent a pornographic picture to a 9-year-old boy's cell phone. The man claims it was a mistake. According to the Ty'Ge Davis' family, the X-rated text came in about a week ago. The third grader showed his grandmother, who was totally shocked even at her advanced age. The text message was a picture of a woman performing oral sex on a couch. "That was too old for me," Ty'Ge said. "I wasn't ready for that." He handed the phone to his grandmother, Dorothy Moore. "I am like let me see...

WYOMISSING, Pa.- A Pennsylvania woman whose fall into a mall fountain while texting went viral on YouTube said Thursday she's considering suing. "I didn't get an apology, what I got was, 'At least nobody knows it was you.' But I knew it was me," Cathy Cruz Marrero, 49, said Thursday on ABC's "Good Morning America." Marrero's attorney, James Polyak, said he wants to know the identities of the security personnel at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing responsible for making the video public, as nearly 2 million people have watched his client stumble obliviously into the fountain. "I was like, 'I'm...

This is most peculiar. No one would know who she was if she didn't come forward. View video here