South Carolina Statehouse Blog

Senator Alexander Works To Keep South Carolina Families Safe

Wednesday, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee passed a bill that would ban text messaging by all drivers in South Carolina. The state’s roads rank among the most dangerous in the country. If the bill makes its way into law, it would go a long way toward making South Carolina’s roadways safer.

“Distracted driving can lead to serious accidents. I’m pleased that this bill is moving on to the full Judiciary Committee,” said Sen. Thomas Alexander, sponsor of the initial legislation. “We have a real opportunity here to protect South Carolinians.”

In August, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released the first study investigating the consequences of texting while driving. It contained some sobering statistics. According to the study, drivers who text are 23 times more likely to end up in a crash. One significant problem is that a person will glance at their phone for five seconds, which means they are going more than 100 yards without paying attention, at normal highway speeds. To put it in comparison, a person driving while intoxicated is four times more likely to cause an accident.

Another study by the University of Utah, this one held in a laboratory setting, showed that texting drivers are eight times more likely to cause an accident. Another laboratory study focused exclusively on teen drivers. The results were conclusively bad – some of the participants even ran over pedestrians in the simulation.

America isn’t alone in dealing with phenomena. A British study showed that drivers who text reduce their reaction time by about 35 percent, and steering ability by 91 percent. New Zealand passed a nationwide law banning mobile phone use in cars.

Currently, 19 states and the District of Columbia ban texting behind the wheel, and a number of others are considering it. This year, Wisconsin, Iowa, Arizona, Florida, Wyoming, Kentucky, West Virginia, Georgia and Idaho legislatures are poised to pass bills concerning the practice. Every day, it seems like another state is stepping up to the plate.

North Carolina’s law banning texting went into effect last year. The N.C. Department of Transportation analyzed data from accidents and discovered that distracted driving is the No. 2 cause of crashes in the state.

“Texting is fairly new, and we’re having to adjust and react to keep people safe. As shown by activity all over the country, the time for action is now,” Alexander said.