BILL WOULD OUTLAW TEXTING WHILE DRIVING

Senator Judith Zaffirini of Laredo sponsored the House bill that would make it illegal to text and drive.

(AUSTIN) — Police officers could ticket drivers for texting behind the wheel under a bill considered by the Senate Transportation Committee Wednesday. HB 63, sponsored by Senator Judith Zaffirini, would make it illegal to use a mobile device for text-based purposes while operating a motor vehicle. Zaffirini said this law will help educate the public on the dangers of texting and driving. "It will impart a clear message that texting while driving is a dangerous activity, " she said.

Zaffirini cited studies showing that texting drivers are 20 times more likely to get in an accident than a non-texting drivers, and that texting may impair driving just as much as alcohol. Forty states and many Texas cities already have no-texting-and-driving laws on the books, but current state law only prohibits texting while driving in a school zone. The bill remains pending before the committee.

The Senate will reconvene Thursday, April 25 at 10 a.m.

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