New Md. Driving Laws Now In Effect This Weekend

BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Reckless driving and texting behind the wheel.

The state has brand new road rules and, as Gigi Barnett explains, they start this weekend.

Lawmakers banned sending texts while driving two years ago. Now, starting this weekend, reading them is against the law, too. It's a primary offense, which means police officers need no other reason to pull drivers over.

"Even if you're stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic, it's now illegal to read a text message, as well," said Ragina Averella, AAA.

That's just one of Maryland's new traffic laws.

During this year's General Assembly, lawmakers also toughened up the state's vehicular manslaughter law. Now drivers can be prosecuted under a criminal penalty if their reckless driving kills.

"In many cases before, we were seeing people were literally killing people with their vehicles and just writing checks, just paying fines, not having to appear in court. This law changes that," Averella said.

"I was the one who was woken up by state police at about a quarter of four in the morning," said Adiva Sotzsky.

A speeding tractor-trailer driver killed Sotzsky's husband Harry as he was returning home from a trip with friends. Back in 2008, a reckless driver struck and killed 15-year-old Connor Coles. This year, families urged lawmakers to pass House Bill 363. It's a law they've spent more than a decade fighting for.

"While this isn't going to bring my husband back and it's not going to change things, the fact is that people don't seem to realize that driving is a full-time job," Sotzsky said.

There's a third law also in effect this weekend which deals with the state's interlock system program. That's a device on cars owned by convicted drunk drivers. If drivers blow into a breathalyzer and they're legally drunk, their car won't start. Now that program has been expanded to include younger offenders.

The Motor Vehicle Administration says the new ignition interlock law will add at least 4,700 convicted drunk drivers to the program.