Texting while driving now has the extra charge of a fine for those under 21

by Sarah Woodhurst, posted Oct. 26, 2009

As of Aug. 28, it is illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to operate a motor vehicle while sending, reading or writing a text or electronic message by means of a hand-held electronic wireless communications device.

For anyone caught, a $200 fine is in place and the offense is recorded on the person’s permanent driving record.

A main issue that has surrounded this new law is the system of enforcement.

“If they’re holding the phone up in the steering wheel, obviously, we can tell,” said Columbia Traffic Officer, Alan Hulett. “It’s not safe to be 22 and texting while driving, but I think this law was more aimed toward the inexperienced drivers.”

Hulett, who has been serving the Columbia Traffic Unit for 15 years, has strong opinions of the law: “People shouldn’t do it. It is causing a lot of bad crashes. In my opinion, people who are texting while driving are worse than drunk drivers. They are more impaired while texting.”

Reporting an exact number of how many traffic accidents have been caused by texting while driving is difficult. 

“There isn’t an exact number, because drivers say no,” Hulett said. “They don’t want me to know that they’ve been texting while driving. There’s no way to truly tell.”

Sen. Ryan McKenna sponsored the original Missouri Bill, SB 130, which put a ban on texting while driving. According to a St. Louis Post-Dispatch interview, McKenna said that he was upset that the final bill only applies to drivers under the age of 21. His original bill had applied to all drivers, but was eventually revised to novice drivers. McKenna also said that he plans on trying to expand the law to all drivers next year.

“If you can’t put down your phone for 20 minutes because you want to look at a text, then you don’t need to be driving,” said MU Freshman Kayla Biek.

Biek is from Minnesota and says that the texting while driving ban has been effective ever since she started driving.

“It’s a good thing,” Biek said. “You’d feel so terrible if you killed someone because you were reading a text that said something like, ‘Hey, what’s up?’”

However, not everyone feels the same way about this new law.

“I think it’s dumb because legally, cops can’t enforce it,” said MU Freshman Kathy Rudd. “I think it just gives cops another reason to pull over kids, and we already have a lot of other laws.”

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 18 states and the District of Columbia now ban text messaging for all drivers and only 9 states prohibit texting while driving for novice drivers. Missouri is listed as the only state with a ban for drivers under 21.

“I'm honestly really glad this law is in place,” said 21-year-old MU student Brandon Twichell. “As for the age restriction, I don't think there should be one. This law should be for all ages, not just minors. If you're texting, you're looking at your phone and not the road. That is dangerous for any age.”

There is a mutual effort from various states addressing the top behaviors that are killing people on America's roads, called ZERO Fatalities. The focus varies by state, but includes behaviors such as drowsy driving, distracted driving, aggressive driving, impaired driving, and not buckling up, according to www.zerofatalities.com.

Hulett recommends watching this video sponsored by ZERO Fatalities to help inform the public of the dangers of texting while driving:
http://ut.zerofatalities.com/texting.php

The revised bill, HB 62, that passed and is currently effective can be found at: http://www.house.mo.gov/content.aspx?info=/bills091/bills/HB62.htm.

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