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Like all of California, San Francisco is seeing an increase in drivers texting. In 2008, California passed a law against texting and driving. The Automobile Club of Southern California surveyed drivers in March and April this year, finding that texting has increased from 0.5 percent before the texting ban to 1.1 percent now. The percentage increase may seem small, but it is statistically significant and moving in the wrong direction.

Drivers from January 1 will probably see fines rocket to approximately $250 for texting, which will become a moving violation. Moving violations can can lead to increased insurance rates. About 2,600 texting tickets have been written out since July 1, 2008 compared to about 230,000 cell phone tickets. The number of cell phone users while driving has not increased.

The California legal system sees the problem, however, and may be getting tougher. California resident Martin Kuehl killed a pedestrian while texting and driving. He was sentenced to four years in prison. Approximately 28 percent of traffic crashes happen while driver are talking on cell phones or texting.

We sincerely hope you are not driving and texting.