The Georgia Senate unanimously approved a bill late last week that would make texting while driving illegal. The proposal now moves to the House, where members are expected to discuss it this week. The legislation should be approved there either in its entirety or with minor changes and then forwarded to the governor for his signature.
The Senate bill bans texting by all drivers. Violation would bring both a fine and driver’s license penalties. The penalty for teens could be even harsher. The proposal would bar them from getting their Class C license for a second offense. Stiff penalties for a routine act like texting might seem draconian, but the law, if approved, serves a useful purpose. It will be a fine adjunct in the state’s on-going effort to save lives and prevent injuries on the road.
The texting ban should find a receptive audience in the House, which previously held hearings on the issue but put aside its own bill to await the Senate version. The House, says Rep. Jay Neal, who represents parts of Catoosa and Walker counties, likely will “get right to work” on the bill. He predicts he and his colleagues “will have something ready to go” in relatively short order.
One hopes that proves to be the case. Prompt action could make it possible for the texting ban to become law on July 1. The benefits of the law will accrue quickly.
Drivers who text are, by definition, distracted drivers. Public officials agree that distracted drivers are responsible for a disproportionate share of vehicular accidents. One study, in fact, indicates that those who text and drive have the same degree of impairment as a drunk driver. A new law won’t stop all drivers from engaging in such dangerous behavior behind the wheel, but it should reduce the scope of the problem.
If the Georgia texting ban is approved, the state will join nearly two dozen others — including Tennessee — with such laws already on the books. More than a dozen additional states currently are considering similar bills. The universal goal is to decrease driver distraction and to improve public safety. That process, in fact, has reached the federal level.
There’s already a bipartisan bill to ban texting while driving in the U.S. Congress. There seems little organized opposition to it at the moment. Indeed, veteran observers of the capital scene say passage is likely, though the timing is somewhat uncertain. The only question is whether the legislation will require states to pass texting bans and risk the loss of federal highway funds if they fail to do so, or if the federal government will reward states that do ban texting while driving with additional money. Either would be efficacious.
Legislators at all levels are right to pursue texting bans. Those who use Georgia’s roads — or roads anywhere in the nation — should not have to share them with distracted drivers. If a broader ban on all hand-held devices while driving is not possible, then laws that expressly prohibit texting are a reasonable ay to help make roads safer for all who use them.