Txt Ban Prposd 4 Cal Cyclists

Next on the list of people barred from texting could be California cyclists. Distracted drivers aren't the only menace on the road, and state politicians plan to crack down on bike riders too busy texting to watch what they're doing. The bill has sparked a firestorm of controversy in California, even among bikers. "These fools be swerving, and they be doing their little texting thing," complained San Francisco cyclist DeAndre Sims, who never texts on his bike and is annoyed by those who do.

Others say texting cyclists don't present the road risk posed by distracted drivers of mega-SUVS. "If you're going to ban it while biking, you might as well ban it while walking," cyclist Jesse Daniel tells NPR. In fact, State Sen. Joe Simitian, who drafted the proposed law, said walkers came up in discussions about the bill, but banning pedestrian texting didn't make it into the final measure.
(More texting stories.)