Wallingford to reintroduce driving-while-texting bill; Highway Patrol asks motorists to 'move over' Saturday

State Rep. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau (R-147) plans to try again to get distracted-driving legislation passed at the next session of the 101st Missouri General Assembly.

Wallingford, 75, introduced a measure in January 2020 while still in the Missouri Senate, aimed at banning all Missouri motorists, with the notable exception of those operating emergency vehicles, from texting while driving.

Wayne Wallingford

The measure — Senate Bill 532 — ran into a roadblock early, never getting beyond a referral to the Senate Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Safety Committee.

Currently in the Show Me State, drivers younger than 22 are barred from using electronic wireless devices to text or send messages via Facebook messenger or other social media platforms. Wallingford wants the prohibition applied to drivers of all ages and said he is undaunted by the lack of progress legislatively.

"There was pushback to (my bill)," Wallingford said Wednesday, "but distracted driving is a real thing and is very dangerous. Just look at someone driving 70 miles per hour and how long it takes a driver to stop at that speed."

The legislator said he is undaunted by the failure to get a texting ban approved and will make another attempt to persuade his colleagues when the legislature reconvenes in January.

The chief of the Cape Girardeau Police Department said he hopes such a bill makes it past the finish line in the future.

"People are preoccupied and often less attentive thanks to cellphones and computerized gadgets inside the car," said Chief Wes Blair, who has been the municipality's top law enforcement officer since 2013.

Cape Girardeau Police Chief Wes Blair, in background, makes a phone call during a 2020 protest at Boradway and North West End Boulevard in Cape Girardeau.Southeast Missourian file

Move Over Day

The Missouri State Highway Patrol is promoting National Move Over Day this Saturday to remind drivers to help protect emergency personnel working on the side of the road.

Preliminary MSHP statistics show 168 traffic crashes resulting in one fatality and 46 injuries so far in 2021.

"Every day, first responders serve the public (and) often do so on the side of the road. Please give them room to work," said a Highway Patrol news release Tuesday.

Chief Blair cited an example of how he said public safety personnel are often in harm's way on the highway.

"A year or so ago, one of our (Cape Girardeau) police vehicles was struck by a drunk driver, rear-ended, during a traffic stop. Fortunately, no one was injured that time," he said.

"Back when I was a patrol officer (in Texas), I had a couple of close calls with vehicles that, had they gotten any closer, I might have been one of those (death) statistics," Blair added.