Feds Push National Texting-While-Driving Ban
July 30, 2009
Using the often-played bargaining chip of federal highway funding, the U.S. Senate is pushing
a bill for a nationwide ban on text messaging while driving.
Thirteen states and the District of Columbia already have such laws, but the bill proposes a two-year time frame for the remaining states to adopt similar laws and formulate a penalty structure.
Virginia Tech's Transportation Institute this week released the "duh" results of a study showing commercial truck drivers were 23 times more likely to crash or experience a near-miss accident if texting.
The federal pressure to adopt an anti-texting law comes in the form of reducing highway funding. The Senate bill proposes a 25 percent reduction in the critical monies for states that do not create an anti-texting law.
The probable argument will center on whether to make texting offenses a primary or secondary offense. Primary offenses mean drivers can be cited for the action itself; secondary offenses can be ticketed only if the driver is first stopped for another infraction. -- Bill Visnic
Posted by Michelle Krebs at 7:50 AM under News , Technology | Comments (0) | digg this | Seed Newsvine
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