7/29/2009 at 8:59 PM by
Tracy
The recent Virgina Tech Transportation Institute report has brought the hazards of texting while driving back into the spotlight. Now legislators across the country are talking a nationwide ban.
According to an article by KEN THOMAS, Associated Press, Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina plan to unveil legislation to require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a moving vehicle while driving.
"The federal government ought to pass a law banning this dangerous and growing practice to protect the millions of Americans on our nation's roads. It is a matter of public safety," said Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y.
The legislation would require states to ban texting or e-mailing while operating a moving vehicle or lose 25 percent of their annual federal highway funding. It would be patterned after the way the Congress required states to adopt a national drunken driving ban.
The transportation secretary would be required to issue guidelines within six months of the measure being signed into law, and states then would have two years to approve the bans on texting and driving. The bill would target the activity in a moving vehicle and not prohibit a driver from texting or e-mailing in a stopped car.
Fourteen states and the District of Columbia have already passed laws making texting while driving illegal.