Alabama Laws on Cellphone Use for Children

Alabama laws on cellphone use impact two separate areas: use of a cellphone while driving and use of a cellphone to transmit pornographic material. Both rulings contain material that parents need to know, both in governing their own actions and the actions of their children. These laws are similar to laws in other states, since both the use of cellphones while driving and using cellphones to transmit pornographic material are areas of concern.

  1. Cellphones and Driving

    • According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, Alabama is one of the 41 states in the U.S. to ban text messaging while driving for all drivers. Additional rules apply to new drivers and drivers with a learner's permit. Whether or not the driver was using a cellphone at the time of an incident is collected as part of the crash data. According to Hands Free Info, Representative Jim McClendon stated that using a cellphone while driving could be as deadly as driving drunk. Individual cities, in some areas, have more stringent rulings for cellphone use.

    School Bus Drivers

    • Alabama considered a bill that would have made it illegal for school bus drivers to use cellphones or two-way radios while the bus was moving. The bill made it through the House but died in the Senate. Alabama school bus drivers are prohibited from sending text messages under the general statewide ban on sending text messages or email while driving. According to the Claims Journal, 19 states have banned the use of mobile devices by bus drivers while the bus is in motion. It takes around 4.6 seconds to respond to a text message, which is long enough for a moving bus to travel the length of a football field while the driver is distracted, according to RSI Insurance Brokers.

    Cellphones and Pornographic Material

    • Alabama Statute Section 13A-6-122 Electronic Solicitation of a Child specifically prohibits use of any electronic device, including cellphones, to entice a minor into sexual behavior. This includes youngsters who are themselves still minors if the other party is more than three years younger than the perpetrator. Unlike most juvenile offenses, electronic solicitation offenses are not sealed because of age, and the offense does follow the perpetrator "forever after." Electronic solicitation of a child is considered a class B felony in Alabama.

    Alabama, Kids and Cellphones

    • Alabama has taken a slightly more liberal approach to cellphone use in vehicles, partially because the state has a tradition of valuing individual freedom. However, drivers who are not yet 18 are prohibited from using cellphones while driving. As for electronic solicitation, the Birmingham, Alabama, office of the FBI reports successfully prosecuting several cases of electronic child enticement. While most of these cases involve adults, parents should be aware that children who take pictures of themselves and each other in questionable acts can fall under this ruling, particularly if they are three years older or younger than another person involved.

    2. Previous:

    Next:

    • Purpose of Intelligence Testing
      Designed originally by to measure verbal and quantitative reasoning, short-term memory and other mental functions, intelligence testing attempts to determine some sense of an individuals intellectual potential. Test designers approach testing differe
    • The Best Wood Chips for a Playground
      Wood chips are among the best shock absorbing materials for a playground. They shed rain quickly and provide better shock absorption than sand or gravel. A 9-inch layer of wood chips, for instance, protects children from serious head injury to a fall
    • How to Get a Child Tested for Learning Disabilities
      The term learning disabilities, often referred to as LD, encompasses a broad spectrum of academic characteristics. Children who have difficulty reading at their grade level or printing and writing legibly may have a language processing disorder. Thos