Don't Text and Drive

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Business card given out at the Department of Motor Vehicles

It passed in the Florida Senate--all 36 Florida State Senators voted to ban texting while driving and approved SB -52 before the amendment was introduced yesterday morning, and then it passed in the House, 73/46. We might know later this week and ultimately it's all up to the Governor.

A late amendment that passed Tuesday morning was proposed by Rep.Jose Oliva, R-Miami, would allow cell phone records to be used as evidence only in the case of a crash resulting in death or personal injury. Oliva said the purpose of the amendment is to “protect civil liberties” not derail the bill.

The bill would make texting while driving a secondary offense. That means a motorist would have to commit another violation, such as careless driving, in order to be pulled over. Once stopped, a driver could receive two tickets, one for the infraction and one for texting, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

According to a survey by AT&T, 97% of teens claim that driving while texting is dangerous, however, 43 percent confessed that they had texted while driving before. The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and the Highway Loss Data Institute reports that Florida is one of five U.S. states with no legislation banning texting while driving in some form along with Montana, Arizona, South Carolina, and Hawaii. Read FSUNews.com for the story.

Those who were hesitant on the ban have the exact same argument as those who want to create a pathway to citizenship for all the 11 to 22 million illegal aliens who are in this country. The problem is so prevalent and pervasive, how are we to enforce the laws on the books, they ask. It's easier to "cave."