OMG: Stiffer Texting, DUI Laws Take Effect Monday

By William Callahan

Drivers with a penchant for texting behind the wheel be warned — starting Monday, police can stop and charge you for texting while driving. In legal terms, the act will now be a primary offense in Virginia. 

It's one of several new Virginia laws and tax rate changes that take effect July 1 — along with changes in state sales and gas taxes.

On the roads, police officers will have the authority to pull over any driver they see texting or emailing from a mobile device. As of Monday, the fine for such an offense will increase from $150 to $250.

You can still text or email if your vehicle is parked or stopped, and you’re still allowed to use the GPS on your phone or in your car. Exceptions will also be made for drivers reporting an emergency.

Until now, texting while driving was only a secondary offense, meaning that you could only be charged if an officer pulled you over for a different violation and then discovered you were also texting.

Penalties for repeat DUI offenders will also stiffen significantly Monday.

If a person has been previously convicted of involuntary manslaughter, a DUI/DWI offense that left a person with permanent injury or a previous felony DUI/DWI offense, then any subsequent DUI/DWI offense will result in a minimum 1-year prison sentence and a $1,000 fine.

Another new rule: Drivers under 18 who have had provisional licenses for at least a year will be allowed to have up to three passengers under 21 in their car, but only if they’re going to or from an activity sponsored by a school, civic or public organization.

And while many new laws take effect Monday, one particularly strange law that has been around for more than a century is being repealed.

If you’ve been living with somebody you’re not married to, you’ve technically been doing something “lewd and lascivious,” a misdemeanor, according to Virginia law.

The law has been in place for 136 years, though it hasn’t been enforced in a long, long time.

A House committee voted to repeal the law in February.