Proposed legislation to ban texting while driving

Mariella Roque/Staff Writer

A research done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety Motorists found that drivers using cell phones while driving are four times more likely to get into crashes than those who do not.

“I [text and drive] all the time,” said art history major Linda Aragon. “I think it’s dangerous… but I can’t help it. I still do it and that is most likely not changing.”

Thirty-five states and Washington D.C. currently have varying degrees of a ban on sending text messages while driving, since the use of phones is a major cause of car accidents nationwide.

“I would consider [texting and driving] more dangerous than talking on the phone and driving,” said dietetics and nutrition major Karla Reyes.

Idaho may soon also be added to the list of 35 since its House passed a ban on texting and driving this week.

The bill was originally accepted by the Senate and an amendment is now being sent back to the Senate for approval.

“I support laws against [texting and driving] in other states,” said political science major Kenneth Dyches. “I would also support a ban here.”

Florida is not among the 35, as it does not have a set law against using a mobile device while driving.

“I can’t pull you over because you’re texting,” said Assistant Chief of the University Police Alphonse Ianiello, “[but] if you’re driving erratically, you can get pulled over.”

The Florida Senate recently failed to pass a bill restricting the usage of cellular devices while conducting a motor vehicle.

“Even if there was a ban, it wouldn’t stop a lot of people,” Aragon said. “Phone providers need to come up with a better way for us to text and drive.”

Senate Bill 0416, also known as Use of Wireless Communications Devices While Driving, was filed in October of last year and would potentially create the “Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law.”

“I believe it should be made law,” Ianiello said. “[Using your phone while driving] increases the risk [of an accident].”

If passed, the act would be made effective in October of this year. Drivers using their phones to send text messages would be pulled over and issued “citations as a secondary offense.”

According to a Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald/Bay News 9 Poll, 71 percent of Florida voters support banning texting while driving.

“It always annoys me to see people driving slowly or making stupid mistakes [because they’re] looking down at their phone,” Dyches said. “…It’s almost equivalent to driving drunk.”

A test conducted in 2009 by Car and Driver magazine showed that it takes a driver longer to hit the brakes while sending a text message than while driving legally drunk.

“I wouldn’t support a ban on texting and driving because I don’t want cops to have more reasons to pull you over,” said senior psychology student Armando Carrasquillo. “They’ll see a cell phone somewhere and give you a ticket even if you aren’t guilty.”

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, about 6,000 deaths and a half a million injuries are caused by distracted drivers every year.

“Cell phone are too integrated in our society,” Carrasquillo said. “People will always text and drive.”