Two bills are working their way through the South Carolina State House aimed at restricting cell phone use in automobiles. A bill authored by Rep. Don Bowen of Anderson and Oconee Counties would ban texting while driving, according to counton2.com. Another bill would require the use of hands free devices if someone uses their cell phone while driving.
South Carolina appears to be following the lead of North Carolina, which already passed a texting while driving ban. If you’re caught texting behind the wheel in North Carolina, you’ll face a $100 fine, though the fine will not add points to your driving record.
South Carolina took it a step further and is trying to join the six states which mandate the use of a hands free cell phone device.
There are currently 19 states which restrict texting while driving and that number appears to be growing rapidly. It wouldn’t surprise me to see some form of texting laws in all 50 states in the near future.
The motivation behind all this new legislation is the recent reports and studies showing texting while driving is just as dangerous as drunk driving. Our firm has been on top of this issue. We wrote a special report about distracted driving and devoted an extensive section to the risks associated with texting and driving.
I’m glad to see South Carolina making these necessary steps to improve driver safety and I hope more states take the extra effort to legislate a requirement for the use of a hands free device.