Stats Show Problems With Kentucky’s Texting While Driving Ban

Jefferson County judges have dismissed nearly 40 percent of the texting while driving charges brought under Kentucky’s two-year-old ban while police and prosecutors say the ban is nearly impossible to enforce.

The Courier-Journal analyzed all 909 charges that have been brought across the state since police began citing drivers for two cellphone related driving laws passed in 2010. One barred those under the age of 18 to use a cellphone while operating a car and the other barred all drivers from sending or receiving text or email messages.

The review found 25 percent of those charges were dismissed, while prosecutors got convictions in 63 percent of the cases.

However, police statistics showed a slight drop in the number of crashes cause by cellphones or other distractions in Kentucky.