• Texting and Internet use while driving is illegal in Minnesota.mobile phone image by MichMac from Fotolia.com
  
  Minnesota has received international recognition for a program it is using to reduce serious injuries and deaths on its roadways. The state's traffic laws and educational efforts play a key role in this program, and its Office of Traffic Safety urges drivers in the state to be aware of these road rules.
  
  

Email, Texting, Web Ban

• If a driver feels the need to "stay connected" while traveling in Minnesota, he better let someone else get behind the wheel. The state's laws ban texting, checking email or using the Internet while driving. These activities are illegal even if a driver is stuck in a traffic jam. This is a "primary offense," which means police can stop a driver just for these behaviors, even if he is not speeding or breaking other laws.
  
  "When you are composing or reading a text message, your focus is not on the road, and your hands definitely aren't on the wheel," says Cheri Marti, director of Minnesota's Office of Traffic Safety. "Driving is a multitasking activity in itself that requires complete attention."
  
  Violating this traffic law can cost a driver up to $300.
  
  

Buckle Up

• Drivers in Minnesota can get a ticket if their passengers don't buckle up.seat belt receptacle image by Albert Lozano from Fotolia.com
  
  When driving through the "Land of 10,000 Lakes," make sure everyone in your car is buckled up. Failure to wear a safety belt or not requiring others to do the same can take a big bite out of your wallet. A Minnesota seat belt citation costs about $110 and anyone in the car who is unbelted and age 15 or older will receive one. Plus, the driver faces an additional $25 fee for each person under 15 who is not buckled up or in the proper child restraint.
  
  Failure to use safety belts is a primary violation, so police can stop a driver just for this reason. The law applies to front seat and back seat passengers.
  
  

Child Safety and Booster Seats

• Children riding in a vehicle in Minnesota must be in a child safety seat or booster seat if they are under age 8 and less than 4 feet, 9 inches tall. This traffic law states that children cannot use a seat belt alone until they are age 8 or 4 feet, 9 inches tall--whichever comes first. Failure to comply with the law will cost you more than $100.
  
  Heather Darby, child passenger safety coordinator for Minnesota's Department of Public Safety, notes that children should not travel in a seat belt alone until they can sit with their back against the vehicle seat, with their knees bent completely over the seat and their feet touching the floor.
  
  

Avoid Excessive Speed

• "In Minnesota, speeding fines are doubled if a motorist is caught speeding 20 miles per hour (mph) or more over the limit, and drivers traveling at speeds of 100 mph or more are subject to a six-month license revocation," said Nathan Bowie, spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
  
  

Emergency Vehicles

• If you see an emergency vehicle stopped on the side of a highway or street and you are traveling on a road that has at least two lanes going in the same direction, move over into a lane that is at least one lane away from the emergency vehicle. If you can't safely switch lanes or if there's only one lane in your direction, slow down as you pass the police car, fire truck or ambulance. Failure to move over or slow down can lead to a citation.