Stephenville has banned text messaging and use of handheld cell phones while driving. The City Council considered a plan to ban all cell phone use by motorists, but rejected it during the April 6 voting. Fines will be up to $200.
El Paso prohibits texting and talking on a cell phone while driving in city limits. The City Council
approved the ban on March 9 and it went into effect May 1. Hands-free cell phones OK. Fines up to $500. El Paso already outlawed use of handheld cell phones in school zones.
Galveston has banned text messaging while driving within city limits. Fines up to $500. The City Council voted to outlaw texting for motorists on Jan. 14 and the ban went into effect immediately.
Arlington%u2019s City Council refused to consider a ban on text messaging while driving.
Statistics show that driving while distracted has a higher percentage of fatalities compared to drunken drivers.
A Virginia Tech study illustrates the distance required to stop while driving 35 mph and texting on a phone compared to a drunk driver stopping. A drunk driver travels an average of four feet more before stopping and the texting driver travels 25 more feet before stopping. The study also goes on to show that drunk driving increases the likelihood of causing a car crash by four times. A texting driver increases the likelihood of causing a crash by eight times.
Please join me in asking the City of Arlington to PLEASE help me and all of AISD's bus drivers protect the children of Arlington, help us keep them SAFE by making the use of a hand held device against the law while in city limits.
