DRIVER’S DISTRACTION IS SURE SIGN OF TROUBLE ON THE ROAD
November 7, 2010
DEAR ABBY: A woman driving the car ahead of me was swerving and weaving in
and out of the next lane. She would slow down, then speed up, and I thought
she might have been drunk. As I pulled up beside her, I realized she was
using sign language to communicate with her passenger. She would turn her
head toward the passenger, signing with both hands and ignoring her
responsibilities of being a good driver. Is this legal?
That woman was driving recklessly, and I don’t think she should have been
driving if she couldn’t pay attention to the road. — SAFE DRIVER IN
LEXINGTON, S.C.
DEAR SAFE DRIVER: According to the Beverly Hills, Calif., Police Department,
the use of sign language is legal as long as it doesn’t interfere with safe
driving. The state of California has a basic speed law that states: “No
person shall drive a vehicle upon a state highway at a speed greater than is
reasonable or prudent having due regard for weather, visibility, the traffic
on, and the surface and width of, the highway, and in no event which
endangers the safety of persons or property.”
In the case you have described, the person who was signing to her passenger
was in violation of this law. I’m sure your state has similar regulations.
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