Biker Robert Jones and his friends decided to bike around the U.S. this summer and they took a pit stop in West Virginia the day before a new texting ban started. Lawmakers passed the law back in March.
“You can usually tell when you pull up next to somebody and they're moving all over the road and you look over, and they're looking down,” said Jones.
Jones said driving next to texters can be frustrating.
“They're not paying attention. They suddenly decide they want to shift to another lane and you happen to be there, you've got to take emergency actions, so I'd rather they pay attention and keep both hands on the wheel.”
His friend, Patrich Gallagher, hopes they do not run into too many people texting during their road trip.
“Nothing's worth your life,” said Gallagher. “There's no emergency situation. You don't need to be texting.”
The group of bikers came to West Virginia because of the scenery and the mountain drives.
“You're always driving defensively, because you're so small. People just don't see you anyway. You add in texting on top of that, and you're invisible.”
It is that invisibility that leads to thousands of deaths every year.
The bikers hope people who live in West Virginia obey the law and that the law will keep people from driving distracted.
“It's to easy to kill somebody with a three or 4,000 pound vehicle. You've got to live with that if you take that chance,” said Jones.
The texting-while-driving ban officially goes into effect Thursday, but it becomes what is called a primary offense July 1st. Officers will not need another reason to pull you over if you are texting while driving.
West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin signed the bill into law on March 8th.
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