Missouri bill would curb drivers' use of text messages, but may be hard to enforce

Missouri drivers could face fines of up to $200 for writing or reading cell phone text messages under a proposed state law.

On Wednesday, Missouri senators gave first-round approval to SB 130, part of a larger transportation bill sponsored by Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City. If the bill is signed into law, Missouri will join eight other states in barring texting while driving.

Sen. Jason Crowell, R-Cape Girardeau, said the proposed ban against texting would be hard to enforce. Until an officer gets close enough to a vehicle to pinpoint what the driver is doing, Crowell said it will be hard to prove. But that is why, he said, Missouri already has a law against reckless driving.

"Ryan McKenna makes a valid point that text messaging while driving is dangerous," Crowell said. "I've seen a lot of things happen in cars that negatively impact one's ability to drive. That's why we have more or less the catch-all law that says if you are operating a car in a careless and imprudent way, you will be ticketed."

Missouri's careless and imprudent driving law says drivers must exercise the highest degree of care so as to not injure anyone or damage their property.

"I think that's the best way to regulate this, rather than go into the Missouri statutes and write out every little thing that constitutes bad driving," Crowell said.

Missouri's statute against careless and imprudent driving addresses the larger issue of driver inattention. Lt. John Hotz, spokesman for the Missouri State Highway Patrol, said inattention continues to be the leading cause of fatal crashes in Missouri.

"Basically anything we do while we drive besides drive can take away our attention," Hotz said. "Adjusting the radio, looking for a CD, talking to a passenger, tobacco use, eating and drinking."

Hotz said he sees drivers doing everything from reading books to shaving to adjusting their hair and makeup. But as cell phones have become increasingly popular, they have become the No. 1 source of driver inattention, according to the National Safety Council.

Twenty years ago, fewer than 900,000 people in the United States subscribed to wireless services, according to the safety council; few traffic safety experts mentioned driver distraction as a safety concern. Now, more than 100 million people use cell phones while driving, the council says.

Hotz said cell phone use was listed as the type of inattention responsible for 12 fatalities, 516 injury crashes and 1,175 property damage crashes on Missouri roads in 2007. Since most people don't admit that they were on a cell phone at the time of an accident, Hotz said, the "numbers are probably low."

A study by the Harvard Center for Risk Analysis estimates 6 percent of vehicle crashes are attributable to cell phone use. The National Safety Council has recommended banning drivers from using cell phones, hand-held or not.

While no state has such a ban, five states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Washington — have mandated the use of hands-free cell phones. Three pending Missouri House of Representative bills would require drivers to use their phones with an earpiece or a speaker rather than holding them to their ears.

But Pam Fischer, director of the New Jersey Division of Highway Safety, is no fan of that alternative.

"Any phone conversation, whether it's hand-held or hands-free, is distracting and can instantly take a driver's mind and eyes off the road," she said in a March 2 news release, which said 1,421 New Jersey crashes in 2007 involved hands-free talking.

In the first 11 months since New Jersey's ban went into effect, more than 108,000 tickets were issued.

University of Utah researchers found that cell phone users at the wheel behaved just like drunken drivers. Being on the phone while driving delayed the ability to brake safely and caused more accidents.

But unlike other traffic safety issues such as drunken driving, there are reasons to allow phones in the car. Phones help drivers stay in touch with family, make and change plans, promote on-the-road safety programs such as the Amber Alert system or provide assistance in an emergency. Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association defends drivers' use of the phones, because they say more than 200,000 emergency calls are placed on wireless phones every day.

All the proposed Missouri bills would excuse drivers who use their phones for emergencies.

Sam Licklider, lobbyist for the Missouri Association of Realtors, said he agrees that texting while driving is dangerous, but he opposes the hands-free legislation.

He said he's seen bigger issues than cell phones, from people driving down Interstate 70 reading the newspaper to others disciplining their children.

"It seems strange to pick out one thing and place a ban on it. Especially something like cell phones that are used pervasively in the U.S. in all forms of business," he said. "What is the difference between having a conversation with a person seated next to you in the car and having a conversation on the cell phone?"

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's website notes that a passenger could alert a driver to a potential hazard, while a person on the other end of the phone cannot.

If any of the bills are approved before Missouri General Assembly session ends May 15, they would take effect Aug. 28.

cwest@semissourian.com

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Pertinent addresses:

Missouri General Assembly

201 W. Capitol Ave., Jefferson City, MO

National Safety Council

1121 Spring Lake Dr., Itasca, IL

Missouri Association of Realtors

2601 Bernadette Place, Columbia, MO

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

1200 New Jersey Ave., Washington, D.C.

Poll question

<form method="post" action="http://www.semissourian.com/scripts/poll/vote.php">Some states have laws that try to regulate personal behavior, from those requiring helmets and seat belts to those banning texting while driving and smoking in public places. Should the government attempt to legislate safe behavior?&nbsp;Yes, the government has a responsibility to keep people safe

&nbsp;Yes, but only behavior that may harm others should be regulated

&nbsp;No, this shouldn't be the role of government

&nbsp;Other opinion

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