Personal Injury Law

Missouri legislature doesn't ban texting for all drivers

By Ryan Bradley, Esq.

Since Missouri banned drivers under the age of 21 from texting behind the wheel last year, the debate has focused on whether to ban texting for all drivers. The state legislature has decided, for now, that it will not ban texting for adult drivers.

Laws against texting and driving have been adopted in numerous states around the country as a way of combating distracted driving and the serious car accident injuries it can cause. 42 states have at least considered such laws, with 24 adopting some type of texting regulation, while federal agencies have banned texting for commercial truck drivers and federal employees driving state-owned vehicles.

Since the Missouri law banning minors from texting took effect, only a few tickets have been issued. It's too early to tell what type of effect the law has had on crash statistics.

Nationwide, over 6,000 people are killed every year by car accidents caused by negligent distracted driving. In Missouri alone, there were over 500 injuries related to distracted driving crashes.

Full post as published by Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog on May 17, 2010 (boomark / email).