Missouri Driving Laws

Texting, cellphone bans do little without teeth

It takes more than a ban on cellphone use or texting to curb those dangerous distractions while driving.

The laws must also be enforced before drivers put down their phones.

That is one of the conclusions reached by the Governors Highway Safety Association last week after it reviewed more than 350 scientific papers that looked at distracted driving in the past decade.

The findings may prove instructive to Missouri lawmakers, who have so far banned texting only for drivers age 21 and under. Missouri doesn't have a state law banning driver cellphone use, and if you're 22 or older, you can legally text or tweet behind the wheel.

"You know, that part isn't really surprising," Barbara Harsha, executive director of the Governors Highway Safety Association, told Ride. "We have known all along that just passing a law by itself isn't going to make a difference."

For instance, she said, tackling such highway problems as drunken driving and the failure to buckle up took "tough laws and highly visible enforcement of those laws."

The report is titled "Distracted Driving: What Research Shows and What States Can Do" and is meant to help state decision-makers when they take up texting or cellphone bans.

One of the problems is that there aren't many absolutes in this area.

"Despite all that has been written about driver distraction, there is still a lot that we do not know," Harsha said. "Much of the research is incomplete or contradictory. Clearly, more studies need to be done addressing both the scope of the problem and how to effectively address it."

For starters, it may take some better data to provide more focused cause-and-effect conclusions of driver distractions. State law enforcement officials are being encouraged to provide more details of the role distractions played in car accidents.

In Missouri, for instance, police will start using a new reporting sheet next year to capture more information about driver distractions.

Besides enforcing the laws that already are on the books, the report found, states should also:

— Use pavement "rumble strips" to alert drivers when they begin drifting out of their lanes. Although states — including Missouri — already are using the strips, Harsha said states could still do more.

— Encourage employers to develop policies and programs to discourage distracted driving.

— Enact a texting ban for all drivers and make it illegal for novice drivers to talk on cellphones while driving.

Auto Symbol » Blog Archive » What are the Missouri State Driving Laws?

&Middot; Operating on a suspended license – 12 points

If you accumulate eight or more points in 18 months, you license will be temporarily suspended. Also, if you receive 12 points in a year, you will have your driving privilege revoked for an entire year. Each year that you drive without adding new points to your record, your total balance is reduced. If you go three years without adding any new points to your record, your points balance returns to zero.

Any emergency vehicle that has a siren on or lights flashing has the right of way. You should pull over to the right hand side of the road if you can. Stop there until the vehicle has passed. If the vehicle is parked on the side of the road, you should move to a different lane so that you are not passing in the lane adjacent to the emergency vehicle if you can safely do so.

Under Missouri law, all drivers and front seat passengers must wear a seatbelt. Also, anyone who is in a car with a driver who has an intermediate license must be restrained. Children under the age of four must be in a child safety seat. Children who are younger than eight or weigh less than 80 pounds must be in a booster seat. Children who are over eight and over 80 pounds must have a seatbelt fastened, even if they are in the back seat. Failure to follow this law will result in a $10 fine. All individuals on a motorcycle must wear a helmet in Missouri.

In Missouri, the speed limit on rural interstates and freeways is 70 mph. On rural expressways you can travel 65 mph. Interstates or other highways in urbanized areas have a speed limit of 60 mph. Lettered roads have a speed limit of 55 mph. If you cannot see a posted speed limit in a city, town, or village, assume that it is 25 mph. If you are caught speeding in the state of Missouri, you will have to pay a fine and have points added to your record. There is no law against the utilization of cell phones in Missouri.

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