Talking and texting while driving has become a major concern. Many state have bans in place for those who text or use a cell phone while they drive. . The Dallas Morning News reports that under a measure approved by a Senate committee would reward states that have such bans in place.
"All would agree that driving while distracted poses serious safety risks not only to the drivers, but to passengers, pedestrians and anyone sharing the road," said Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the senior Republican on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.
The bill, which will now head to the full Senate, would create a $94 million program to dole out grants to states that prohibit texting and phoning while driving. However this bill would not punish states for failing to enact such laws. A competing distracted driving bill proposes the opposite, and would punish those state who fail to enact such laws.
Both Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and Hutchison said their "carrot" approach was better than the "stick" method.
"States are the best places to have this type of legislation passed, and our bill does respect state rights," said Hutchison, a co-sponsor of the bill.
The federal dollars to fund the bill would come from surpluses in another highway bill. But in order for the states to receive that money, the laws would have to be against both texting and using handheld cell phones behind the wheel. And would require drivers be pulled over for disobeying the measures.
Those requirements gave some senators on the committee pause, as did the fact that many states already have distracted driving laws on the books. Twenty-eight states and the District of Columbia have laws against texting while driving. Seven states and D.C. also prohibit using handheld devices on the road.
The bill would also require the U.S. Transportation Department to issue new distracted driving regulations for commercial drivers and bus drivers, and it would prohibit automakers from installing entertainment screens in the view of drivers.
A corresponding House bill has not yet made it out of a Transportation and Infrastructure Committee subpanel.
