Recently this past month at a
legislative briefing, family members of those victims of texting and driving
met up to partake in a program called "It Can Wait”. The program set up by
AT&T, it is meant to expose the dangers of texting and driving through a
driving stimulation test. These actions were in relevance to try and push
support for House Bill 63 and House Bill 41 alongside Senate Bill 28. HB 63
promotes the ban on typing on a handheld device for the purpose of sending an
electronic message whereas, HB 41 seeks to ban any use of a cell phone without
a hands free device illegal.
During the 2011 legislative session
governor Rick Parry vetoed bills approved on comparable laws on texting and driving.
Perry called the bill “A government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults”
Pressures form committees may lead to Parry altering his place on the issue at
hand when already, 25 cities in Texas have local ordinances banning the
practice within city limits. Other adversaries on the ban bring up statements
like “Laws would have little meaning because they would be difficult to enforce”
said by city council member Barbra Graff.
After the briefing Houston senior
police officer Paul Lassalle further added that the prospective ban faces two
hurdles to enforcement. The first, he said, is that the burden of proof in
court is so high that officers have to be very careful before accusing someone
of texting while driving. The other is that some police officers who text and
drive themselves will be hesitant to enforce the ban. "There's the
hypocritical aspect of it."
I feel that there is a purpose why
lawmakers create a law or bring up an idea of a law. I encourage people to read
this article and open their eyes to inform themselves as a driver on the risks
of texting and driving and that there is a need to enforce some kind of resolution
to humanities poor habits of being distracted on the road. There is a brief section
in the article that talks about one of
the deceased mothers, Mrs. brown who now goes to different schools to hopefully
educate and encourage our youth about the dangers and consequences of texting
while driving. I strongly agree with what she does and I hope by her doing so
that more individuals listen and understand the dangers of using your phone
while driving affects more than just yourself.
Source: Texas Tribune
Title : Lawmakers Renew Push to Ban Texting While Driving
Article Written By: Maurice Chammah
Date: January 29,2013
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