Updated:: Mar 8, 2018
Original:: Oct 28, 2012

New Wisconsin law to ban young drivers from using cell phones

Starting Thursday, drivers with an instruction permit, probationary license or fewer than three years of driving experience will no longer be allowed to use a cell phone while behind the wheel, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter. Violations will cost drivers up to $40 dollars for the first offense and up to $100 for a subsequent offense. Minnesota also bans novice drivers from all cell phone usage while driving in the state.

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Starting Thursday, drivers with an instruction permit, probationary license or fewer than three years of driving experience will no longer be allowed to use a cell phone while behind the wheel, according to the Fond du Lac Reporter. Violations will cost drivers up to $40 dollars for the first offense and up to $100 for a subsequent offense.

Minnesota also bans novice drivers, commercial vehicle drivers, and school bus drivers from all cell phones usage while driving through the state, according to DMV.org. All drivers are prohibited from texting while behind the wheel.

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A new law takes effect in Wisconsin on Thursday that bans drivers with an instruction permit or probationary license from “using a cellular or other wireless telephone except to report an emergency.” The law is primarily aimed at teens, whose leading cause of death nationwide is traffic crashes, and distracted driving leads to many of those crashes, public safety officials say.

National transportation safety officials would like to see all state governments ban the use of cell phones in the driver's seat. One official called it "the new DUI." The recommendation comes after a deadly four-vehicle crash that investigators attribute to a driver who had sent 11 text messages in as many minutes just before the collision.

However, the Star Tribune reports it remains unclear whether the bill bans cell phone use only when passengers are in the cab, or at all times. Taxi companies say if it's at all times, they strongly oppose the rule.

Current cell phone contracts often prohibit users from filing lawsuits. That means anyone with a complaint can only settle it through arbitration. Democratic Sens. Al Franken and Richard Blumenthal say that doesn't always give cell phone users enough protection.

The Minnesota Court of Appeals gave AT&T permission to build a 450-foot cell phone tower just outside the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. The group Friends of the Boundary Waters Wilderness hopes Supreme Court justices will agree with a lower court that ruled the tower would be a blight on the federal wilderness area.

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