Texas House Passes Texting While Driving Ban, Vote Moves to Senate

Texas is only one of four states in the U.S. that does not have a statewide ban in place for texting while driving, but it looks like that could change after the Texas House voted to approve House Bill 62 111-62.

There are individual cities in Texas that ban texting and driving - among those in East Texas are Overton, Jacksonville, Mt. Pleasant, Mt. Vernon and Nacogdoches, according to JR Law Firm.

KXAN reported on Wednesday afternoon that after making a few amendments to the bill, the House passed a bill that would 'prohibit the use of hand-held phones to read, write or send an electronic message while driving'.

The bill will now go to the Senate, according to ABC 13, though this would make it the fourth time Texas lawmakers have tried to see the bill through.

Personally, I have a friend who flies down Texas highways while texting and I honestly don't like being in the car with them. There is absolutely no reason to text and drive - except for emergencies, which HB 62 will allow.

KXAN reports that one of the amendments says the first offense would cost $99 and the next would amount to $200. Some say $200 is not enough to prevent texting and driving, and those against the bill state this infringes the rights of Texas citizens.

So, two sides of the story but personally, texting and driving seems like an unnecessary distraction for an activity that already takes too many innocent lives on the road.

Credit: ABC 13 News