California’s usually in the vanguard of new laws and regulations. And now that the state’s passed a no-texting while driving law, you can assume others will follow suit.

California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed legislation in mid-September that imposes a $20 fine for a first offense of texting while driving and a $50 fine for any subsequent violation.

The new law follows closely on the heels of a California train accident, in which a train engineer was found to have been sending and receiving text messages before he ran head-on into a Union Pacific freight train – a collision that killed 25. After the incident, the state Public Utilities Commission voted to impose a texting ban on all train engineers, conductors and brakemen while on duty.

In fact, a few states were actually ahead of the California in banning texting while driving. So far Washington state, Alaska, Louisiana, Minnesota, and New Jersey prohibit texting while driving. In Washington, it is a secondary offense, meaning an officer cannot pull you over for that offense alone, otherwise you are facing a $125 fine.

A number of municipalities have also passed ordinances against the practice, including Westchester County, NY. Chicago is considering such a law.

The use of text messaging is exploding as the latest tool to talk to one another. The Wireless Association says 75 billion of them were sent in June, up from 7.2 billion in June 2005.

While the fine amounts seem small, most drivers will want to avoid the insurance hikes that will invariably come along with it. And checking the cell phone bills of drivers involved in accidents will help nail culprits who haven’t been paying attention to their driving while behind the wheel.

Cellphones, BlackBerrys and larger electronic devices all give users the ability to type and deliver text messages. A recent survey found that some 57% of people admit having sent text messages or e-mails while sitting behind the wheel of a vehicle, while 66% have read messages while driving, according to a survey last year by the mobile messaging service Pinger.

The survey found that 89% of American adults believe sending text messages while driving is dangerous and should be outlawed.These new laws will also invariably increase a company’s liability if an employee’s texting on a company-issued mobile unit or driving a company-provided vehicle. It’s probably time to create a policy forbidding the practice. Showing due diligence is never a bad idea. And neither is protecting your employees and the public.

Tags: cell phone, drivers, fines, law, mobile, texting, violation