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Follow TURFLawmakers mull bans on texting, cell phones while driving
While we feel for the families and friends who have lost loved ones due to texting while driving, data has shown that in areas where there are bans in place, accidents actually go up since people try to hide their phones and take their eyes further off the road by looking down. So a ban won't fix the problem. We're certainly not for texting while driving. Perhaps a better approach is for the free market to crackdown. If insurance companies told policyholders they'd lose their insurance policies or had punitive penalties if they're involved in an accident that shows they were texting while driving, that might prevent texting while driving more effectively than these government bans have done. This is an education issue, not one for criminalization. Rep. Jose Menendez' bill would prohibit you from even touching your phone while driving. This is government overreach that seems like its more for writing a bunch of tickets than public safety. What's next? What about eating, adjusting or programming a GPS device, DVD player, or a stereo? All of these things distract drivers, too.
At some point, we need to educate and trust drivers to be responsible and minimize distractions while driving. We can't possibly pass a law against every type of driver distraction, and we should err on the side of liberty and freedom.
Texas lawmakers mull ban on texting while driving
By SOMMER INGRAM
The Associated Press
Updated: 1:22 p.m. Thursday, March 10, 2011
Published: 3:07 a.m. Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Legislation to ban texting while driving in Texas is gaining momentum in the state House, where Republicans and Democrats alike have pledged support.
Multiple texting while driving bills were left pending in the House Transportation Committee on Wednesday, but not before committee members heard heartfelt testimony from individuals who have lost loved ones to a texting and driving car wreck.
Lisa Chapa of Mission, Texas, talked about the harsh reality texting and driving brought into her family's life. Her sister died in a car accident in November and was texting at the time of the wreck.
"Texting and driving changed the course of my family's life," Chapa said. "It needs to have more severe consequences. Maybe one person will understand that this does happen — it happened to us, and it can happen to them."
Former House Speaker Tom Craddick, R-Midland, collapsed Wednesday morning while testifying on his bill that would make it against the law to read or send text messages and e-mails while driving. He quickly regained consciousness but was taken to the hospital for further observation.
Craddick said it's better to have one provision that would establish uniformity statewide rather than depending on individual cities to ban cell phone use. A first-time offender would have to pay a fine of up to $200.
Craddick's bill would be named the Alex Brown Memorial Act, in memory of a West Texas girl who died in a one-car accident while she was texting.
House members have put their support behind Craddick's bill, but Rep. Jose Menendez, D-San Antonio, also filed a more stringent bill to prohibit cell phone use unless a hands-free option is available.
Menendez said this would make it easier for police officers to enforce the law, since they wouldn't have to determine whether the person was texting or just holding a cell phone.
The legislation would exempt people who use a cell phone to call 911 while driving.
Terri Hall, member of Texans Uniting for Reform and Freedom, said it's not the government's job to dictate what citizens can and can't do in their own cars. She argued that putting laws into place would cause more wrecks because people would try to hide their cell phone use, pulling their eyes even further from the road.
Joel Cooper, a research scientist with the Texas Transportation Institute, said this could be an unintended consequence, but the legislation is important in terms of changing attitudes toward texting and driving.
"This is a multi-tiered approach, and that has been shown to be effective," he said.
Some witnesses highlighted the dangers to bicyclists and riders of motorcycles. John Hildinger said his best friend was killed by someone texting while driving. His friend was on a motorcycle when he was killed.
"These individuals under the influence of their social lives are not intending to go out and kill someone, but it's not intentional actions we're talking about here," Hildinger said. "My best friend rode 52 years without a wreck, and then was killed by someone texting and driving."
Thirty states have already passed laws that ban texting and driving. In Texas, it's against the law to use a cell phone in a school zone, while people under the age of 18 can't use a phone at all while driving. Studies have shown that texting while driving is the equivalent of having a 1.6 blood alcohol level.
"The most impactful, the most profound legislation doesn't come from special interests or lobbyists," Rep. Byron Cook, R-Corsicana, said. "It comes from real people like we have here today."