Alaska is taking texting and driving real seriously compared to other states in America. At the moment, texting and driving is banned in 47 states, however; only in Alaska a person found guilty will have to spend a year in prison and $10,000. Now, if you’re in California, the maximum fine for a fist timer is just a mere $20, that should put into perspective how deadly it is in Alaska for folks who love to text and drive.

“Texting fines vary wildly across the country,” Mother Jones reports, “and you’ll end up paying a little or a lot depending on where you got caught.”

In some states, the police are not allowed to pull a driver over for texting. However, the police is capable of imposing a texting fine on top of speeding or other road laws the driver might have broken.

It’s pretty interesting to see a state handing down a $10,000 fine and 1 year in jail for first offenders in this texting and driving problem. We wouldn’t mind if this law is adopted by other states in the U.S to help curb drivers from doing the deadly deed.

Make no mistake, by now every driver should know that texting and driving is dangerous, yet some do it anyway. It proves incompetence and thus they deserve harsh treatment by the courts.

[via Mother Jones]