After all the pandemonium that text messaging has caused us (Metro link accident, Texting makes you bump into lampposts & Texting while driving worse than being drunk) Governator. Arnold Schwarzenegger has banned motorists from sending, writing, or reading messages on electronic devices starting Jan. 1. Schwarzenegger signed legislation Wednesday that imposes a $20 fine for a first offense of texting while driving and a $50 fine for any subsequent violation. "Banning electronic text messaging while driving will keep drivers' hands on the wheel and their eyes on the road, making our roadways a safer place for all Californians," said Schwarzenegger.

The earlier ban on mobile phones was not useful since the skeptical among them noted the law only applied to holding a cell phone up to one's ear while driving—not texting, dialing, or downloading ring tones, or anything else one might do with a phone not actually up to their ear.

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