Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Texting-While-Driving Bill Unveiled

Drivers in the United States would be banned from texting on a cell phone or other personal electronic device while operating a moving vehicle under legislation unveiled Wednesday by Sens. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Robert Menendez, D-N.J., Mary Landrieu, D-La., and Kay Hagan, D-N.C. The measure comes in the wake of a rash of mass transit accidents caused by distracted operators and a new study by Virginia Tech researchers that found drivers are 23 times more likely to get into an accident when texting. A Car and Driver Magazine study last month indicated that texting while driving is more dangerous than driving intoxicated.

Under the bill, states that did not bar sending of text or e-mail messages while operating a car or truck would risk losing federal highway funds. The measure requires the Transportation Department to establish within six months of passage minimum penalties that must be contained within state law. States would have two years to pass compliant bans or else risk losing 25 percent of their highway money for each year they fail to comply. States that comply after the two-year deadline can retroactively recover lost highway funds, the senators said. Aides said a House companion has not been introduced.

"We have seen too many lives ruined due to drivers recklessly using their cell phones. With this new legislation, drivers will finally be held responsible for dangerous behavior that puts the public at risk," Schumer said in a press release. Fourteen states and the District of Columbia currently ban all drivers from texting while operating motor vehicles and 11 other states have a modified prohibition on texting while driving. Verizon Wireless General Counsel Steve Zipperstein said his company supports the bill because it is "consistent with our belief that good public policy is supported by good science."