CLEVELAND, OH (WOIO) - As part of a national initiative to ban texting while driving, AAA East Central's Brian Newbacher testified Wednesday before the Ohio House Transportation, Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee on House Bill 99, proposed legislation that would prohibit texting while driving in Ohio.
"Texting while driving is the most dangerous of all distractions behind the wheel. It therefore merits special attention with its own law and enforcement and education programs," Newbacher testified.
A recent survey of the motoring public by the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety found that 24 percent of motorists of all ages admitted to text messaging while driving. Nearly half of drivers ages 18 to 24 admitted to text messaging while driving.
"The AAA Foundation analyzed data from a 2006 Virginia Tech Transportation Institute (VITI) study involving 100 drivers in natural settings and found that taking one's eyes off the road for more than two seconds doubles the risk of a crash," Newbacher added.
Texting while driving impacts motorists in several ways: it affects their ability to perceive important traffic events; it affects their judgments in how to react to those unexpected events; and it reduces a driver's ability to take action and avoid danger.
House Bill 99 prohibits driving a vehicle while writing or sending a text message on a mobile communication device. It is intended to establish the violation as a primary traffic offense. Motorists violating the law after a six-month warning period would be subject to a fine of no more than $150.
AAA announced in 2009 that it will work to pass laws banning text messaging by drivers in all 50 states by 2013, citing strong public support for the laws and the danger of distracted driving.
Public surveys by various organizations show that support for banning texting while driving is high, ranging from 80 to 96 percent. In the most recent AAA survey, 93 percent of Ohio AAA members support a statewide ban.
Currently 30 states and the District of Columbia have laws that address text messaging by all drivers. Ohio does not have a "no texting while driving" law in place. However, texting is illegal in several major Ohio cities including Cleveland where the penalty carries a minimum fine of $100 for a first offense.
The popularity of texting has grown quickly over the past four years. According to the wireless industry trade association, CTIA, the number of monthly texting messages reached 110 billion at the end of 2008, a more than 11-fold increase in three years. Studies have shown texting while driving to be an extremely dangerous distraction for drivers due to the extended time (an average of 4.6 seconds) drivers spend not looking at the road.
Copyright 2011 WOIO. All rights reserved.
