ALBANY - Text messaging on a cell phone while driving a car can be a deadly distraction, says a Long Island state senator who wants to make the practice illegal.
State Sen. Carl Marcellino said the deaths of five teenagers killed in a head-on wreck last month in the Finger Lakes region highlighted the lethal potential of texting and driving and demonstrated the need for the proposed ban.
Although police continue to investigate the crash, they know text messages were sent and received on the 17-year-old driver's cell phone moments before the accident that killed her and four other recent high school graduates. Investigators said they may never know which of the teens was using the phone.
“Talking on cell phones isn't the only distraction. The explosion of text messaging has created a new problem,” Marcellino, R-Syosset, said Wednesday.
“You need two thumbs to use these devices. How do you hold the wheel? You have to take your eyes off the road to see the screen or see the letters. It's terribly dangerous,” he said.
Marcellino has introduced a law that would ban writing, sending or reading text messages while driving. The measure would amend the existing ban on talking on hand-held cell phones while behind the wheel, he said. The proposal is sponsored in the Assembly by Felix Ortiz, a Democrat from Brooklyn.
Marcellino said he expects the bill to reach the Senate floor in the fall. If signed into law, violators would be fined $100, the same penalty for breaking the hand-held cell law.
CTIA-The Wireless Association, an industry group, said it would support such a law and that consumers should use common sense.
“We don't think anyone should be text-messaging while driving,” said CTIA spokesman Joe Farren.
In May, Washington state became the first state in the nation to make texting while driving illegal.
Similar texting bans are pending in Connecticut, Arizona, New Jersey, California and Oregon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Cell phone use by drivers has continued to climb year by year in the United States, said Anne McCartt, a researcher with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A 2005 study by the institute found that the crash risk is four times greater for someone driving while using a cell phone - regardless of whether its hand-held or handsfree, McCartt said.
There have not been any studies on the dangers of text messaging while driving, but it adds the physical risk of actually looking at the phone to the mental distraction of being involved in a conversation, McCartt said.
“I don't think you need a study to tell you that text messaging while you're driving is an extremely unsafe thing to do,” she said.
Marcellino said he realizes such a law would be difficult to enforce. But he said it would serve as an awareness program. He also suggested the wireless industry could provide educational material on responsible use.
“We're not trying to put anyone out of business here. I carry a Blackberry and use a laptop. I'm not anti-technology. It's like fire. It cooks your food and heats your home. But if you misuse it, it can kill you,” he said.
Although police continue to investigate the crash, they know text messages were sent and received on the 17-year-old driver's cell phone moments before the accident that killed her and four other recent high school graduates. Investigators said they may never know which of the teens was using the phone.
“Talking on cell phones isn't the only distraction. The explosion of text messaging has created a new problem,” Marcellino, R-Syosset, said Wednesday.
“You need two thumbs to use these devices. How do you hold the wheel? You have to take your eyes off the road to see the screen or see the letters. It's terribly dangerous,” he said.
Marcellino has introduced a law that would ban writing, sending or reading text messages while driving. The measure would amend the existing ban on talking on hand-held cell phones while behind the wheel, he said. The proposal is sponsored in the Assembly by Felix Ortiz, a Democrat from Brooklyn.
Marcellino said he expects the bill to reach the Senate floor in the fall. If signed into law, violators would be fined $100, the same penalty for breaking the hand-held cell law.
CTIA-The Wireless Association, an industry group, said it would support such a law and that consumers should use common sense.
“We don't think anyone should be text-messaging while driving,” said CTIA spokesman Joe Farren.
In May, Washington state became the first state in the nation to make texting while driving illegal.
Similar texting bans are pending in Connecticut, Arizona, New Jersey, California and Oregon, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Cell phone use by drivers has continued to climb year by year in the United States, said Anne McCartt, a researcher with the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. A 2005 study by the institute found that the crash risk is four times greater for someone driving while using a cell phone - regardless of whether its hand-held or handsfree, McCartt said.
There have not been any studies on the dangers of text messaging while driving, but it adds the physical risk of actually looking at the phone to the mental distraction of being involved in a conversation, McCartt said.
“I don't think you need a study to tell you that text messaging while you're driving is an extremely unsafe thing to do,” she said.
Marcellino said he realizes such a law would be difficult to enforce. But he said it would serve as an awareness program. He also suggested the wireless industry could provide educational material on responsible use.
“We're not trying to put anyone out of business here. I carry a Blackberry and use a laptop. I'm not anti-technology. It's like fire. It cooks your food and heats your home. But if you misuse it, it can kill you,” he said.
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