Jan. 10—A law that went into effect at the start of the new year entails harsher consequences for teens caught distracted driving.

“I think that it’s something that probably needs to be (done), because we live in a distracted world with access to smartphones,” Wilson County Sheriff’s Office Public Information Officer Scott Moore said. “As a society, that’s where we communicate everything. It looks like there’s definitely going to be some harsher penalties for people under the age of 18 who are caught distracted driving.”

According to Moore, there previously was only a $50 fine for distracted driving.

Now, the biggest change to legislation is that teens caught distracted driving more than once will now receive seven points on their driving record.

“That’s enough to potentially have their license suspended for six to 12 months,” Moore said.

One of the reasons for the shift is the Eddie Conrad Act.

Conrad was a Wilson County business owner who was killed in an 2020 automobile accident that occurred as a result of distracted driving.

The act was signed by Gov. Bill Lee last May and established the number of points charged to a person’s driving record for violations of driving while using a cell phone. The law went into effect at the beginning of this year.

“That’s what kind of launched these new penalties on distracted driving for teenagers,” Moore said. “It was because the situation that occurred with (Eddie Conrad) and his family as a result of someone that was texting and driving.”

Texting and driving can affect drivers in three main ways — cognitive distraction, visual distraction and manual distraction.

“All three of those can be extremely dangerous when it comes to driving,” Moore said. “We have had Hands-Free Tennessee that came into effect several years ago under public chapter 412, where it states it’s illegal for drivers to hold a cell phone or mobile device, write, send or read any text-based communication, reach for cell phone or mobile device in a manner that would take their eyes off the road.”

Moore said that data indicates the most distracted drivers were between the ages of 16 and 24 years old.

“It’s definitely something that I’m glad to see there’s going to be harsher penalties for,” Moore said. “Your new drivers aren’t experienced. I’ve been driving for years, and I feel like I’m a pretty good driver, but it’s not safe for me to drive distracted. It’s not safe for any age, whether you’re experienced or not experienced.”

Moore can always find people driving distracted when he’s out in Wilson County.

“You can find it while you’re passing people or sitting at a red light when people get on their phones,” Moore said. “At nighttime, if someone’s face is lit up while they’re driving the car, chances are they got their cell phone in front of their face.”