Alarmed by the dangers of driving while text messaging, legislatures in 23 states are considering outlawing the practice, which 19 states already ban. Lawmakers “often get involved because there's a high-profile accident that had to do with texting,” an expert tells USA Today. “Also, because everybody has a cellphone now.” Experts expect many of the pending laws to pass, and Sen. Chuck Schumer is working on a bill that would strip states that don’t ban texting while driving of 25% of federal highway funding.
One AAA exec foresees “a dozen or more" new bans in 2010. “There's clear public disapproval of the behavior, and there's strong public support for a law.” The president of a nonprofit recently formed by the federal government to combat the practice, whose mother was killed by a distracted driver, was more forceful. “That’s a no-brainer,” she says. “I'm kind of at a loss as to why every state doesn't have a no-texting law.”
(More distracted driving stories.)