Only five states, including Texas, still allow texting while driving. Forty-five states have banned the practice as unsafe. If House Bill 80 passes in the current session of the Texas Legislature and is signed into law by Gov. Greg Abbott – an uncertain outcome – Texas will finally exit the embarrassing list of states that have allowed special interests to block safe driving initiatives. The bill goes to the House floor for consideration on Wednesday. Citizens can contact their state representatives and ask for their support of the measure.
BikeTexas, the statewide organization that advocates for safe streets for cyclists and pedestrians, is asking supporters to get active and contact their elected representatives to support the bill. The state’s leading advocacy group for alternate transportation also is preparing for its biannual event, Cyclists in Suits Agenda, on Monday, March 30 at the State Capitol. Well-heeled riders will press for passage of key bills aimed at making Texas streets and roads safer for cyclists and pedestrians. Those efforts will include HB 80 to outlaw texting while driving and HB 2459 & SB 1416 that would establish safe passing laws in the state, allowing cyclists to share the road with vehicles.
Former Gov. Rick Perry twice vetoed bills prohibiting texting while driving, citing nebulous First Amendment issues while carrying the water of telecommunications companies that make hundreds of millions of dollars in profits from texting. It’s been one more Lone Star embarrassment as the rest of the world has adopted 21st century safety standards.
“I’m for it,” said state Rep. Diego Bernal, D-123, on Tuesday. “The San Antonio Police Department has been unequivocal in its support for the bill because they believe it makes the road safer and they have the data to back it up. This is truly a safety over convenience bill. The example I give to people is this: If we all agree that we shouldn’t text in school zones, and we understand why and there is absolute consensus that it makes things safer, than why wouldn’t it apply everywhere else?
The former city councilman said he has curbed his own bad habits of making cell phone calls while working.
“One thing that I do hope happens is that the technology required to comply, whether it’s Blue Tooth or something else, becomes cheaper and more available,” Bernal said.
Bernal is in the unusual position as a newly elected state representative of having recently voted as a San Antonio city councilman to implement a hands-free driving ordinance that is much more restrictive of a vehicle operator’s cell phone use than what is contemplated in the House bill.
“I am convinced that hands-free is safer, and I would imagine as the data bears that out over the next year, that will be the next step and I will support that, too,” Bernal said.
Fourteen states have passed hands-free legislation.
Three months into the advent of San Antonio’s hands-free ordinance, fewer drivers are visibly speaking on cell phones while driving or glancing down at their laps to read or answer text messages. There is no hard data to support that claim, but that is my impression as a driver who has used the ordinance, which went into effect on Jan. 1, to break my own habit of talking on a hand-held cell phone while driving. Undistracted, I now am more free to observe the behavior of other drivers. I’ve watched as the number of drivers holding cell phones seems to have steadily declined since the start of the year.
One reason may be the efforts by the San Antonio Police Department to enforce the ordinance. Police announced a 30-day grace period at the start of the year in which they only issued warning tickets. Starting Feb. 1, police began issuing either warning tickets or violations that can result in fines up to $200.
“From Jan. 1 through March 24, we have written 1,480 warning tickets for violation of the hands-free ordinance,” said SAPD Sgt. Javier Salazar. “From Feb. 1 through March 24 we have written 1,87o tickets for violations of h hands free ordinance.”
Whether it’s enforcement or simply the existence of an ordinance mandating hands-free driving, the city’s initiative appears to be working. Now it’s up to the state to play catch-up.
*Featured/top image: AT&T’s “No Text on Board” campaign. Photo credit Flickr user Mike Mozart.
Related Stories:
Hands on the Wheel, Cellphone Down!
Phone-Free Driving: Look, Ma! No Hands!
San Antonio Drivers: Hands Free or Busted Come January
Thanks for quantifying how enforcement of SA’s new ban is going. I rarely see drivers with a phone to their ear or visibly texting now. And I have completely stopped using my cell phone while driving — and really feel I am a much better driver because of that.
Re Perry’s veto of cell-phone driving ban: It wasn’t just the First Amendment angle he waved; he stated that Texans are “smart enough to know what’s the right thing to do” and that laws weren’t needed for such. Perry never explained why Texans aren’t smart enough to drive at a safe speed, not steal, not abuse children (all requiring legal enforcement), yet somehow understand that it has been proven that a driver on a cell-phone has the same driving impairments as if driving while legally drunk.
Re hands-free (e.g., Bluetooth) substitutes: It ain’t that one’s hands are involved; it’s that one’s BRAIN is involved. The vast majority of phone calls from cars can wait.
In the “old days,” we had to look for a phone booth, pull over, make the call. Now all you have to do is pull over and stop, then pull out your cell phone.
Figure out how to get to your destination BEFORE you turn the key. How did we ever find places and keep appointments before the proliferation of cell technology? Gee, I guess we just DID.
First Amendment, my left elbow! This is all about personal responsibility as a licensed driver.
Edit: Cyclists in Suits takes place MONDAY, March 30.
Op! Thanks, Jillian! I’ll update that.