The federal government has recently brought an issue to the forefront that has received a lot of attention. An educational campaign to bring attention to what they have dubbed “distracted driving” has gained steam in the last few months. “Distracted driving” refers to the use of cell phones while driving, especially texting.

Insurance companies have begun seeking ways to avoid liability for distracted customers and families of those involved in these type of accidents have begun to raise awareness for the issue.

Texting while driving is a primary offense in 17 states including Oregon, California, Virginia and North Carolina. This means that texting is considered the most serious offense of a group of offenses that a person can commit at the same time. Six states, which include California, New York and Washington prohibit all drivers from using handheld cell phones while driving.

Alabama is getting closer to being the 20th state to impose some form of ban on text messaging while driving. The Senate Judiciary Committee voted 8-1 earlier this month to approve a text messaging ban that had passed the House in January. The same bill died in the Senate committee last year. But the committee made some changes in the bill before approving it.

The revised bill now requires that a motorist be committing some other offense, such as speeding, before police can stop the vehicle. The bill originally allowed police to stop a driver only for text messaging, but some senators were concerned that officers could misuse it.

The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Jim McClendon, a retired optometrist from Springville, first introduced the bill in the Legislature earlier this year. The law would fine a driver $25 for a first conviction for texting while driving. A driver would be fined $50 for a second conviction and $75 for each subsequent violation.
McClendon said that he’s fine with the bill’s change because that’s how the Alabama Legislature initially enacted a seat belt law. Then when people became comfortable with the law and started buckling up, the Legislature allowed police to stop motorists only for not wearing seat belts.

The bill would also cause one point to be charged to the record of the driver. Points are assessed for moving traffic convictions based on the violation offense date. A person can lose their license after accumulating 12 points on their driving record.

State Rep. Ken Guin agrees with the bill. He said that he’s recently seen what “distracted driving” can cause after driving near a woman on her cell phone.
“I started to drive around her,” Guin said. “I thought she was drunk.”

McClendon’s bill is being supported by the Alabama chapter of the National Safety Council. The chapter’s director, Jason Robinson, said he believes the ban would save lives.

“Research has shown the if you’re talking on a cell phone you’re four times more likely to be involved in an accident and if you’re text messaging you are six times more likely,” Robinson said.

Auburn resident Jamie Prader admitted to using a cell phone while driving, but he said he would never text.

“That’s just stupid,” he said. “There’s no way that you can pay attention enough to drive well and text at the same time. Texting causes you to look at your phone instead of the road.”

Prader added that he thinks the ban is a good idea.

“If you’re irresponsible enough to text while you’re driving, you deserve whatever you get.”

According to National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving distracted driving in 2008. In addition, 500,000 were injured in 2008 in accidents involving some form of driver distraction, the U.S. Department of Transportation reports.

Auburn resident Stacey Wright said that she would support a ban of texting while driving in Alabama.

“I think it’s a good idea,” she said. “It takes me a while to text, I can’t imagine trying to do it while driving.”

Wright did add that she thinks this law would be hard to enforce.

“It seems like it would be hard for the police officer to know for sure that the person was texting. But if they did stop even one person, I think the law would be worth it.”

In an article titled “Texting while driving ban: Alabama legislative committee stalls bill” posted on AL.com earlier this month, some readers didn’t think the law would work.

“It’s a useless law, almost impossible to enforce,” titletown13 commented. “They should spend the time, money and effort educating the public on the dangers of texting while driving.”

But this issue is more personal to some. FocusDriven is an advocacy group for victims of motor vehicle crashes involving drivers using cell phones.

The Web site, focusdriven.com, claims “We help victims and their families share their experiences in a healing manner that promotes safety and educates others about the tragic outcomes that can result from driving while using a cell phone.”

The FocusDriven board is comprised of family members who lost loved ones due to motorists using their cell phones while driving.

Jennifer Smith, president and founding director of FocusDriven, lost her mother in September of 2008 due to distracted driving.

“She was driving through an intersection when a young man ran a red light and T-boned her car at 45-50 mph, which was the speed limit,” Smith said on her testimonial. “The young man was a sober, churchgoing 20-year-old who had never even had a speeding ticket. Visibility on the day of the crash was excellent. The cause of the crash was a tiny device that fits in your pocket: a cell phone. He was on the phone for less than a minute. People don’t realize that it takes just seconds of not paying attention for a life to be taken away forever.”

Smith said that she would like her mother’s legacy to be that people hear her story and decide their call, email or text message is never as important as someone's life.

“I have two beautiful daughters to protect,” Smith said. “I can't lose anyone else I love.”