The Transportation and Telecommunications Committee heard testimony Feb. 11 on a bill that would make enforcement of texting while driving a primary action, allowing law enforcement to stop drivers solely for engaging in such activity.<\/p>\n
Enforcement of the law currently is a secondary action, meaning the driver must first be cited or charged with some other violation.<\/p>\n
Under LB118, introduced by Scottsbluff Sen. John Harms, a person in violation would be issued an infraction with a fine between $200 and $500, depending on the number of previous offenses.<\/p>\n
The U.S. Department of Transportation noted that over 3,000 people were killed in distracted driving accidents in 2010, Harms said. Most people agree that texting while driving is a problem, he said, yet they continually engage in such behavior because the current law is enforceable only if they are violating another law.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf it already is against the law, why don\u2019t we give law enforcement the tools to enforce it?\u201d Harms said.<\/p>\n
Nance Harris, representing the Nebraska Trucking Association, testified in support of the bill, saying that commercial drivers are 23 times more likely to experience a crash as a result of texting.<\/p>\n
Erin Smith, a student at Central Community College in Hastings, also testified in support of the bill, saying that her car overturned after she sent a text message to her boyfriend while she was driving. She broke her back and collarbone, experienced brain hemorrhaging and had to have three surgeries as a result of the accident.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday I still suffer from the accident,\u201d Smith said. \u201cEvery day I ask myself if that one text was really worth everything I went through, and the answer is \u2018no\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n
No one testified in opposition and the committee took no immediate action on the bill.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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