Texas legislature passes statewide ban on texting while driving

The issue is the morons who use their phone at the worst time, like stop-and-go traffic or those who take their eyes of the road for several seconds. Nobody keeps their eyes on the road 100% of the time...its impossible. Looking in my rear view or side view mirror is just as dangerous as looking down for a fraction of a second to read a text. If I use my phone while driving, I hold my phone up to the dashboard level so I can see traffic in my peripheral and have my foot over the brake. I am not stating this is a good idea, but I certainly attempt to reduce the distraction of completely looking away.

 

Texting and Driving kills and injures more than Drunk driving.

 

I believe there are studies which demonstrate driving while conversing using a BT headset is similar to driving drunk in terms of reaction-time/acuity.

 

Having your eyes or hands occupied on something else is only part of the problem. The studies have found the cognitive distraction of holding a conversation hurts driving performance even if the driver is on bluetooth and watching the road the whole time. It's worse when the person on the other end doesn't see the driving experience and can't be considerate of a driver as they deal with hazards. We know texting is really dangerous. We know being drunk is dangerous. We know talking on the phone is dangerous. This is the low-hanging fruit when it comes to addressing one of the most common but preventable ways people die. May as well grab those.

 

as a motorcycle rider, i appreciate this...most of the times when i have to dodge crazy drivers, its usually because they're fidgeting with their phones...and talking on your phone does limit your ability to react, i've caught my brain wandering off while talking on the phone, which is why i avoid doing it

 

While I like this law there are many other things cops can be giving tickets for already.

1. not using blinkers..now i am constantly watching people drift into my lane without knowing whether they are actually changing lanes or just texting/distracted
2. hogging left lane without passing.