Table 2.

Barriers experienced by officers when enforcing texting while driving laws (N=258)*

Barrier	Per cent experiencing this barrier
Drivers try to conceal texting	78.3
Current law has exceptions which allow drivers to perform certain behaviours but not others (eg, drivers are not permitted to text, but they may use global positioning system, or manually dial a phone number)	66.2
Officer cannot prove what the driver is actually doing on their phone (ie, texting vs watching a video, surfing the internet, dialling a number)	64.5
Drivers do not fully understand what the law permits	57.3
Drivers are not supportive of this law	49.2
Surrounding states have different laws which confuse interstate drivers	40.5
Current law is too narrowly focused	35.9
Law is outdated because technology advanced faster	24.4
Current law is unclear	23.5
Judges or courts are not supportive of law	23.3
Officer does not fully understand what the law permits	16
Officer wants to maintain a positive relationship with the public	13.7
Fellow officers are not supportive of law	12
Department management is not supportive of law	4.3

*This question asked if the officer experienced any of the perceived barriers listed above when enforcing texting while driving laws. Responses consisted of, ‘yes’, ‘no’ or ‘unsure’. The percentage shown is those who indicated that they experienced this barrier when enforcing this law if it was in effect in their jurisdiction. The response rate for this question was 73%.