Texting While Driving Bill on Gov’s Desk
Thanks to the work of a Bristol legislator, a bill to ban texting while driving in Tennessee is on its way to Gov. Phil Bredesen for his signature.
State Rep. Jon Lundberg, a Republican, said making texting while driving illegal in the state has been one of his top priorities during the current session of the Tennessee General Assembly.
Last week, the legislation was given final approval in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. On Friday, it was sent to the governor’s desk for his signature.
If Bredesen signs the bill into law, the ban could take effect July 1, said Lundberg, who represents Bristol and the northern edge of Sullivan County in the 99-member House.
“[Starting in July] if you’re caught texting while driving in Tennessee you’re going to pay a $50 fine and $25 in court costs,” Lundberg said of the ban’s penalties.
The ban would not apply to on-duty law enforcement and rescue squad personnel who use computer screens to transmit messages, Lundberg said.
Texting while driving is currently banned in seven states and the District of Columbia, according to the Governor’s Highway Safety Association.
Another three states – Alabama, Utah and Virginia – have passed similar bans in their legislatures this year. Virginia’s ban will also become law July 1.
This is the second time Lundberg has worked to get a texting ban. His effort last year ended when the bill was sent to a summer study committee, which Lundberg said is a step used to kill legislation without bringing it up for a vote.
This year’s effort almost met a similar fate after one of the bill’s opponents, Rep. Bill Harmon, D-Dunlap, put an amendment on the proposal that would have required the state to put up new road signs informing motorists of the ban at every border crossing in the state.
Lundberg said making and installing the signs would have cost $14,000, which would have kept the legislation from moving forward.
Harmon removed his amendment after Lundberg agreed to broadcast a warning about the ban on the Tennessee Department of Transportation’s electronic billboards.
Others were concerned the ban would be hard to enforce. But Lundberg said he was reassured by several law enforcement officers that they “will take care of the enforcement if we focus on the policy.”
The state Senate adopted the ban with a 23-6 vote on April 23. It passed the House 67-24 on April 27 and has already been signed by Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey, of Blountville, who represents Johnson and Sullivan counties in the 30-member Senate.
“It should be on its way to the governor’s desk right now,” Lundberg said. “It would be highly unusual for the governor to veto something like this.”
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Reader Reactions
Rep Lundberg has a great idea. I don’t know the details of the bill, but I think is should apply to everyone, not just a certian age group. Keep up the good work.
Corr:
It’s never going to be a problem as long as you think the gov’t is and always will be acting in your best interest.
We both agree that doing certain things while driving is not in a person’s best interest. We also differ on the smoking issue, as I stated it’s not illegal, but it’s not a very bright idea. Ever heard of second hand smoke? Why should a child have that forced upon them with no effective voice or knowledge to dissent.
My opposition to this bill is based on the Legislative arm of our country rapidly eroding the Bill of Rights and transforming this country into a quasi-police state. Ever since the Patriot Act was hastily put in place to protect America, your rights have dramatically been curtailed. In one fell swoop our legislative branch allowed the executive branch of government to operate with absolute power and control. Most of your rights to privacy, search and seizure, and a voice on your gov’t assisted debt levels (Iraq/Afghan War,TARP,TALF,PPIP) have disappeared overnight.
It’s never going to be a problem as long as you think the gov’t is always will be acting in your best interest.
Unfortunately, some people need laws to tell them what is good to do and what isn’t. While I agree that it seems that the government has it’s nose in a lot of places it doesn’t need to be, I can also see that unless some people are forced to see the sense of things, they never will. Thinking that you can control a car while sending and recieving text messages is the height of folly. People shouldn’t have to be told this. Speeding and/or drinking alcoholic beverages while driving are also against the law and so shouldn’t be done either, that also endangers the driver and other motorists on the roadways. Smoking in a car with children is not against the law, does not endanger other drivers, and windows can be lowered to let the smoke out. If you are not hiding anything in your car, why do you worry about the police pulling you over for texting and finding something else?? They can search my cars anytime they would like to, the only thing they will find in mine from time to time is gum wrappers and empty soda containers, a bit of trash. Obey the law, don’t do what is not smart or right for you to do while driving and you will be safe, if others driving do the same, and you have nothing to worry about. Thank goodness the officers of the law are trying to keep us all safe as they do their jobs. And if in doing this job they find child porn, meth, illegal drugs, burglary tools, drunk drivers, ‘high’ drivers, persons being held agaisnt their will, etc. etc., that is a GOOD thing.
Does anyone need to be texting while driving? No, it’s extremely hazardous to one’s health. None the less, the fact that it’s stupid, dangerous or even illegal doesn’t prevent someone from doing it anyway. Are there people speeding, drinking and driving, smoking with children in the car? I don’t think it’s a good idea to do any of these, but neither is it a good idea to sign this bill into law.
There is a good reason the police are in full support of this bill, they “will take care of the enforcement if we focus on the policy.” The bill needs to identify texting as a secondary violation that you can’t be stopped for. Otherwise, every time the police want to pull someone over WITHOUT probable cause the driver will be charged with texting…and oh by the way, this lead to the laundry list additional things we found after we pulled them over.
I’m not suggesting that we should let criminals run rampant, but this throws a person’s right to unreasonable search right out the window. There is tremendous opportunity for abuse here.
To make matters worse they’re exempting police and emergency workers? So it’s OK that they text and drive? Should we add only when not in a high speed pursuit or transporting an individual to the hospital….
I see this for what it actually is, another instance of gov’t intrusion into our lives, taking our rights away. I’ll leave you with this food for thought from Lord Acton.
“I cannot accept your canon that we are to judge Pope and King unlike other men with a favourable presumption that they did no wrong. If there is any presumption, it is the other way, against the holders of power, increasing as the power increases. Historic responsibility has to make up for the want of legal responsibility. Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority: still more when you superadd the tendency or certainty of corruption by full authority. There is no worse heresy than the fact that the office sanctifies the holder of it. “
Use to be when you saw a car weaving or being driven irratically, you would think it was a drunk driver. So you pass to get away from the driver and see that they have a cell phone up to their ear talking away and not paying attention to the fact that they almost just ran someone off the road. I use my cell phone while driving also, but I have a blue tooth, that is the safest way to talk and drive. The law should be that a blue tooth is mandatory with all cell phones.
As for texting, the reason it is so popular is that the packages offered by most cell phone companies make texting the less costly way to go. As long as it is that way, people will text.
I think this is a good law, it needs to be done. It will save lives if people will abide by the law. However, I also don’t see that happening.
If he signs it will make no difference. Just like speed limits, if you don’t see a cop around people will do it.
One more dumb law.
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