Traffic Tweets Send Mixed Messages

Safety experts complain that states are undermining their own no-texting-while-driving laws by offering motorists constant Twitter updates on traffic conditions, the AP reports. At least 22 states with laws that essentially ban drivers from using smartphones and similar devices behind the wheel provide such information, and, in some cases, readily pass on information texted in by drivers.

"You shouldn't be fiddling around with any kind of electronic gadget in your car while driving," warned Minnesota state Rep. Frank Hornstein, author of his state's no-texting-while-driving law. State transportation officials say the tweets provide a useful service to drivers, and stress that drivers are supposed to get the information before they hit the road.
(More Twitter stories.)