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INDIANAPOLIS – An area lawmaker hopes to outlaw texting while driving for all Hoosiers during the 2010 legislative session.
Sen. Travis Holdman, R-Markle, sponsored legislation this year that prohibits the practice for teen drivers. Now he wants to take the next step and ban texting and e-mailing while driving for all drivers.
“A driver’s crash risk doubles when attention is taken off the road for two or more seconds,” Holdman said. “An increasing number of people are texting and e-mailing while driving, which diverts their attention away from the road and endangers other motorists, passengers and pedestrians. This legislation will save lives.”
He filed the bill, which would call for a fine if the ban is violated, last week. Legislators will be in session Jan. 5.
Indiana would join 18 other states and the District of Columbia in banning motorists from texting while driving.
“A Virginia Tech study showed text messaging on a cell phone was associated with the highest risk of all cell-phone-related tasks,” Holdman said. “As texting-type tasks continue to grow in popularity, we have to use what resources are available to help reduce the amount of crashes and fatalities on our roads. This is another positive step forward in protecting all Hoosiers on our highways and byways.”
Some legislators generally vote against such bans, preferring personal responsibility over bureaucracy.
Rep. Dan Leonard, R-Huntington, said he would usually be in that group. But his experience with cell phone usage has taught him about driver inattention. And texting and e-mailing involves more than holding the phone.
“I’m pretty conservative, but on this one, I’m convinced,” he said. “To think that people text while they are driving is astounding to me.”
Rep. Matt Bell, R-Avilla, said he has voted against cell phone driving bans in the past.
“But clearly there is evidence that texting is more dangerous,” he said. “It is an issue that deserves serious consideration.”
The Obama administration said in October that it will seek to ban text messaging by interstate bus drivers and truck drivers and push states to pass their own laws against driving cars while distracted.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reported that 5,870 people were killed and 515,000 injured last year in crashes connected to driver distraction, often involving mobile devices or cell phones. Driver distraction was involved in 16 percent of all fatal crashes in 2008 and was more prevalent among young drivers.
