No Text, No Drive, No Problem

While I encourage you to read this commentary, I urge you not to do so while in the driver’s seat of your car. That’s because using your smart phone to read - or text - while driving is dangerous to everyone on the road.

In other news of the obvious, water is wet.

Texting-while-driving is not a new concern, but the push to hold drivers more accountable for driving while distracted by texting has moved past another legislative speed bump. The proposal approved by the state House Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee would allow law-enforcement officers to stop vehicles when they see motorists texting behind the wheel. It is co-sponsored by state representatives Emily Slosberg and Jackie Toledo.

It’s an attempt to bring Florida into the New World Order when it comes to cell phones and driving. The Sunshine State is one of only four states where texting while driving is not a primary offense. Currently, motorists can only be charged with texting and driving if they are stopped for other offenses, such as speeding.

The legislation would allow motorists to text while in stationary vehicles, and would require law enforcement officers to inform drivers they have a right to decline a search of the wireless devices. The measure also would prohibit officers from confiscating handheld devices without warrants, and motorists cannot be detained while a warrant was sought. This is important to civil libertarians, who are concerned the bill could be used to target minorities.

The bipartisan-backed legislation (Slosberg is a Democrat, Toledo a Republican) got a huge boost last month when House Speaker Richard Corcoran announced his support of the measure.

Florida’s Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles reported nearly 79,000 distracted-driving crashes in Florida in 2016, including 1,591 deaths - 106 of them in Palm Beach County. That was 10 percent more crashes than just the year before. Texting-while-driving now causes 1 in 4 accidents in the U.S, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. It’s six times more likely to cause an accident than drunken driving, and results the deaths of 11 teenagers a day.

Is it tough enough on its intended targets? Probably not; some supporters of the texting-while-driving ban would prefer lawmakers require motorists to be “hands free” from electronic devices. Slosberg herself said she would prefer a “hands free” requirement and for charges to be criminal, but she said the bill had been negotiated and needs to be viewed as “a step in the right direction.”

Distracted driving - whether it be the driver turning the radio knob, eating a burger, or looking in the back seat to make sure the kids are alright - has been a problem since the first automobile hit the road more than 100 years ago. I'm not so naive to think if passed into law this will solve the problem 100 percent. But every step along the way helps, and I see nothing in the promised law that takes away from that effort.