Texting While Driving Bill is Back, is it Here to Stay?

As the state of Texas gears up for its’ 85th legislative session, legislators began filing bills they hope will make it through to the Governor’s desk and be signed into law. Of the more than 500 bills already filed, the Alex Brown Memorial Act (H.B. 62) has seen Texas’ legislative process before – 3 times to be exact.

The bill’s main supporter, Representative Tom Craddick (R – Midland), has presented the bill for the past three consecutive sessions, with no avail. In 2011, the year the bill was first introduced, was the only time the bill made it to the governor, Rick Perry’s, desk where he declined to sign it, citing the bill as “a government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.”

Since Governor Perry’s initial rejection of the bill, house and senate committees have hesitated moving the bill forward because of their belief that the governor will again veto the bill. With the mass number of bills to be heard and voted on, “wasting” time on a bill they know won’t pass is something that many legislators are skeptical of.

However, Craddick believes it is something worth trying again. Texas is among only four states in the U.S. that do not have a state-wide texting and driving ban – others include Arizona, Missouri, and Montana. The bill, which supporters believe is a “common sense bill,” would make it a misdemeanor for drivers of any age to text while driving; as well as implement fines ranging from $25 to $200 depending on how many times the driver has committed the offense. It would also create a “blanket” of restrictions throughout the state, instead of a “patchwork” of city-wide laws.

Proponents believe that the law would drastically cut down on the accidents and fatalities caused by distracted drivers each year. According to Eric Nielsen, a Houston-based attorney, “when anyone gets behind the wheel of a car, he or she is accepting a certain level of responsibility,” – something supporters of H.B. 62 believe as well. Their goal is to cut down on distracted driving accidents, and hold the perpetrators accountable, should they decide to break the law.

However, skeptics of the bill argue that there is no way to reasonably enforce the law, and are weary of giving more power to the police force in fear of creating a “nanny state” government. Whether the law will actually reduce the number of collisions on the road is also up for debate, with the idea that drivers will put more effort into hiding their phones so that they don’t receive a citation rather than concentrating on the road.

The best way to determine if texting and driving laws work is to look at other state, as well as national, statistics to see how the law(s) have affected those numbers. In many cases, texting and driving laws have reduced fatal car accidents and increased awareness about the dangers associated with cell phone use while driving. With more than 3,500 roadway fatalities in Texas last year, 476 of those as the result of distracted driving – Craddick believes the law could end these “unnecessary and preventable” deaths.

A look at some historical data:

• According to the California Department of Motor Vehicles, who outlawed the use of cell phones while driving in 2009, the state saw a dramatic decrease in cell phone related accidents in the years following the implementation of the law. In 2008, the year before the law took effect, California reported 911 cell phone related accidents – just 2 years later in 2010, that number fell to 641.
• According to the New York Department of Motor Vehicles, more than 20,000 extra citations were issued the year following the implementation of the texting while driving law – 55,612 in 2013 and 75,617 in 2014 – showing that it is possible for police officers to enforce the law and hold perpetrators liable for their actions.
• Finally, with 46 states implementing cell phone-related driving laws starting in 2007, a look at the nationwide statistics shows that, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), total fatal distracted driving accidents have fallen from 5,329 in 2007 to 2,955 in 2014.
  

Ultimately, it is up to Texas lawmakers to determine whether a texting while driving law is what is right for Texans. A look at the statistics of other states is a good way to determine how the bill would affect Texas roadways – but does not consider the unique situations and culture of each region. Here’s to seeing what the 85th legislative session has in store for the future of Texas roads.