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Senate Bill 146, legislation that would ban the practice of text messaging while driving, has passed the state Senate by a vote of 32 to 9. The bill, authored by Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, and co-authored by Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague, could place fines on texting and driving comparable to those for excessive speeding if it passes through the House and is signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin.
The measure will now go to the House where Morgan said he would add language included in his House bill, but left out of Ellis’ Senate bill.
“My bill died with a vote of 47 to 43,” Morgan said. “I plan to add some of the language from my bill to the Senate bill, and we will use it.”
Morgan’s bill would ban texting while driving for individuals under 18, while Ellis’ bill would ban texting while driving for all drivers excluding emergency and medical personnel and law enforcement officials. State law currently bans drivers under 17 from texting while driving.
“The young drivers are the ones that show the most support for this bill,” Morgan said. “They grew up with texting and they know how dangerous it is.”
Morgan said Oklahoma ranked second in texting per capita.
The Distracted Driver Act signed into law by former Gov. Brad Henry, took effect Nov. 1, and allows police officers to ticket individuals involved in accidents if proof of distraction exists.
Morgan said the biggest opposition came from individuals that feared the bill would be expanded to include texting while walking, and other distractions that are currently in practice by motorists.
“Driving while trying to text is a distraction, just like changing a radio station or drinking coffee,” Morgan said. “But none of these other things effect the way a person’s mind works like texting does.”
“Hopefully we will finally understand how dangerous it is to text and drive,” Ellis said. “People can’t keep passing the center line on a highway because they have their heads down texting. I have had someone almost hit me because he had his head down and wasn’t driving, I honked at him, and he didn’t even lift his head up.”
A study conducted by the University of Utah stated that using a cell phone while driving delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal intoxicated limit of .08 percent.
“When people drink they at least have a hand on the wheel, or are sometimes watching the road,” Ellis said. “When they text they act like they forgot they were driving.”
Police reported data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Automotive Sampling showing that in 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, which was16 percent of total fatalities.
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Robby Short may be contacted by calling 214-3934
Senate Bill 146, legislation that would ban the practice of text messaging while driving, has passed the state Senate by a vote of 32 to 9. The bill, authored by Sen. Jerry Ellis, D-Valliant, and co-authored by Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague, could place fines on texting and driving comparable to those for excessive speeding if it passes through the House and is signed into law by Gov. Mary Fallin.
The measure will now go to the House where Morgan said he would add language included in his House bill, but left out of Ellis’ Senate bill.
“My bill died with a vote of 47 to 43,” Morgan said. “I plan to add some of the language from my bill to the Senate bill, and we will use it.”
Morgan’s bill would ban texting while driving for individuals under 18, while Ellis’ bill would ban texting while driving for all drivers excluding emergency and medical personnel and law enforcement officials. State law currently bans drivers under 17 from texting while driving.
“The young drivers are the ones that show the most support for this bill,” Morgan said. “They grew up with texting and they know how dangerous it is.”
Morgan said Oklahoma ranked second in texting per capita.
The Distracted Driver Act signed into law by former Gov. Brad Henry, took effect Nov. 1, and allows police officers to ticket individuals involved in accidents if proof of distraction exists.
Morgan said the biggest opposition came from individuals that feared the bill would be expanded to include texting while walking, and other distractions that are currently in practice by motorists.
“Driving while trying to text is a distraction, just like changing a radio station or drinking coffee,” Morgan said. “But none of these other things effect the way a person’s mind works like texting does.”
“Hopefully we will finally understand how dangerous it is to text and drive,” Ellis said. “People can’t keep passing the center line on a highway because they have their heads down texting. I have had someone almost hit me because he had his head down and wasn’t driving, I honked at him, and he didn’t even lift his head up.”
A study conducted by the University of Utah stated that using a cell phone while driving delays a driver’s reactions as much as having a blood alcohol concentration at the legal intoxicated limit of .08 percent.
“When people drink they at least have a hand on the wheel, or are sometimes watching the road,” Ellis said. “When they text they act like they forgot they were driving.”
Police reported data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System and the National Automotive Sampling showing that in 2009, 5,474 people were killed in crashes involving driver distraction, which was16 percent of total fatalities.
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Robby Short may be contacted by calling 214-3934
