February 05, 2012
/24-7PressRelease/ -- Texas Governor Vetoes Texting Ban
As many states move toward passing laws that prohibit the use of mobile communications devices while driving, Texas Gov. Rick Perry took a step in the opposite direction this summer when he vetoed a bill designed to ban texting while driving. The governor's defense of the move was that the government needs to back away from its "effort to micromanage the behavior of adults."
Supporters of the ban, however, point out that many who text while driving are teens or younger adults. Consumer Reports released a poll that indicated 63 percent of drivers under 30 admitted to using a cell phone while driving, with half of those admitting to texting. Almost half of all teens admit to texting while driving.
Those in favor of the ban also note the impact the texting driver may have on other drivers on the road, as well as the potential danger the behavior imposes for other drivers. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, in 2009, nearly 1,000 people were killed in accidents involving a driver using a cell phone, one of the most common forms of distracted driving.
Further, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, texting while driving is particularly disturbing because it encompasses all three of the types of distractions -- visual, where the driver stops watching the road to look at his phone; manual, where the driver uses his hands to text instead of steer; and cognitive, where the driver's attention is no longer on his driving, the road conditions or others around him, but on the conversation being texted to and from his phone.
Studies have found texting while driving can impair a driver even more than alcohol or some drugs, making the roads increasingly more dangerous as texting becomes more prevalent.
Article provided by Jerry D. Andrews
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