Checkpoints for texting?

Currently in New Hampshire, police can use sobriety checkpoints to find drunken drivers, while other authorities occasionally use checkpoints to see if firewood being brought into the state has the emerald ash borer, a destructive beetle that targets ash trees.

Should there also be checkpoints to see if drivers have been illegally using their cellphones while driving?

There is no such procedure in place, nor is there a proposal for it in New Hampshire.

How a 'texting checkpoint' could work

The key to a possible texting checkpoint is a new device called a "Textalyzer".

Think of it like a Breathalyzer for texting. At a police checkpoint, a driver would have to hand over their cellphone and the Textalyzer would determine if that driver had been using their phone while driving to text, check Facebook, send emails, or other activities that violate the hands-free driving law.

Lawmakers in New York and a handful of other cities and states are considering authorizing police to crack into phones using such a device, but it is not legal anywhere yet. Learn more.

Texting while driving in NH

The distracted driving measure in New Hampshire became law in 2015. It bans hand-held cellphone use while driving, including any texting, typing emails, or programming GPS systems, whether or not the driving engaging in these behaviors is seen to drive recklessly or negligently.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says distracted driving claimed 3,477 lives in 2015.

New Hampshire state police report the number of fatal accidents tied to distracted driving are down, but that incidents related to cellphone use while driving still occur. "We have started changing culture, which takes time," said N.H. State Police Maj. Matt Shapiro

Texting checkpoints: arguments for and against

Proponents argue that the Textalyzer can be used to determine whether a phone was being used while driving - an otherwise difficult proposition - and that the possibility of a checkpoint using the Textalyzer could act as a deterrent to illegal cellphone use.

Opponents say using the Textalyzer violates a person’s privacy and represents an illegal search without a warrant or probable cause, a constitutional violation.

Do you support use of a Textalyzer as a means of checking for distracted driving?