Hovis, Morse file bills to ban texting while driving

Two Southeast Missouri legislators — Barry Hovis of District 146 (Whitewater) and Herman Morse of Dexter, whose newly realigned District 151 now takes in the southwestern Cape Girardeau County communities of Allenville and Delta — have introduced legislation in the General Assembly to toughen the law regarding texting while driving.

Herman E. Morse

Herman E. Morse

Missouri and Montana are the only two U.S. states without a total ban on texting while operating a motor vehicle.

Washington was the first state to pass an absolute texting-while-driving ban in 2007.

Missouri does restrict texting by what the Governors Highway Safety Association — www.ghsa.org — calls "novice" drivers, those 21 and younger. Montana has no restrictions whatsoever on texting while operating a motor vehicle.

Hovis favors toughening the state statute and has introduced House Bill 441 to prohibit motorist texting or using a handheld device while driving unless hands-free operation is possible.

"Data does support that (a ban) decreases fatalities and accidents if usage is restricted," said Hovis, who spent 30 years in law enforcement with Cape Girardeau Police Department.

"(My bill) does not apply to GPS directions or emergency vehicle use," Hovis said. "(The law) is a balancing act with personal liberty and safety. Unfortunately, many people are seriously affected when people text and drive."

Hovis has found a cosponsor for his bill — Rep. Mark Matthiesen of St. Charles County — but the legislation has not been assigned to a committee.

Morse's bill, HB 756, also outlaws texting by drivers of any age and like Hovis' bill has not been assigned for committee work.

Of note

Former Rep. Wayne Wallingford of Cape Girardeau, now director of the state Department of Revenue, tried on two occasions without success to get distracted driving legislation passed — once while a member of the Senate in 2020 and again while in the House in 2021.

In previous reporting by the Southeast Missourian, Cape Girardeau Police Chief Wes Blair said in 2021 he was hopeful of a legislative remedy.

"People are preoccupied and often less attentive thanks to cellphones and computerized gadgets inside the car," Blair said.

Data points

The National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL) issued the following bullet points about U.S. cellphone use:

• Nearly 303 million Americans have cellphones, and at any given moment during daylight hours, more than 800,000 vehicles are being driven by those using handheld devices.
• In 2018, 2,841 U.S. citizens died in crashes involving distracted drivers, with an additional 400,000 injured.
• Auto club federation AAA reports use of electronics is the leading source of distraction for teen drivers.
• Incentive grants are available for states if they pass distracted driving laws in accordance with the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act — passed in 2015.

More information is available at www.ncsl.org/transportation/distracted-driving-cellphone-use.