By Rarione Maniece

Capital News Service

One summer night in 2011, 19-year-old Kyle Rowley of Herndon, got out of his car to push it to the side of the road after running out of gas on his way home from work. Minutes later, Rowley was struck and killed by a vehicle driven by Jason Gage, according to the Virginia State Crime Commission.

Investigators found that Gage had been texting seconds before hitting the teen.

Gage was charged with reckless driving but was later found not guilty by a Fairfax County judge. That was because, at the time of the accident, Virginia law designated texting while driving as only a secondary offense. The judge ruled that it could not count as reckless driving.

In 2013, the Virginia General Assembly made texting while driving a primary offense. Since then, convictions statewide have nearly quadrupled, according to an analysis of data from the Virginia Department of Motor Vehicles.

In Buckingham, there has been one conviction per year since 2013. in Cumberland County, there have been two every year since 2013 and in Prince Edward, there have been none since 2013, when two convictions were handed down.

During the 2012 fiscal year, before the law went into effect, fewer than 440 Virginians were convicted of texting while driving. But during the 2015 fiscal year (which ended June 30), there were almost 1,700 convictions.

Government officials say it’s critical that texting while driving be a primary offense – because then police can stop the driver on the spot. “Primary [offense] is the best way to address many of the highway safety issues that are faced on the roadways. It gives law enforcement the power to act when they see someone distracted while driving via texting or using their phones in some way,” said Erik Strickland, director of federal relations for the Governors Highway Safety Association.

According to Capt. Michael Grinnan of Fairfax County, an officer now can pull a driver over for texting while driving without having to look for other infractions such as expired license plates or state inspections.

When it was a secondary offense, other violations had to be present for a driver to be stopped for texting while driving.

Under the new law, which took effect July 1, 2013, the fine for texting while driving also increased — from $20 to $125 for first offenders and $250 for every repeat violation. Although convictions have increased across the commonwealth, Grinnan said it is still more difficult to convict drivers of texting and driving in Virginia than in other states. He said loopholes in the current law should be plugged.

Under state law, drivers are permitted to use their cellphones for things such as making a call or using a GPS. But in Fairfax County, a driver is required to give “his full time and attention to the operation of the vehicle.”

Even some people convicted of texting while driving said they understand the need to curb the habit. Alex Johnson, for instance, was convicted in Hampton in 2012. Under the new law, convictions for texting while driving in Hampton increased 443 percent — from seven in 2012 to 38 this past year.