EDITORIAL: Ban on texting while driving needs serious penalties

Texting is one of the most distracting activities behind the wheel of a car, and it’s time for South Carolina to threaten a penalty for such a dangerous action. The House has passed a bill that takes a step toward banning texting while driving, but the final version has slashed penalties so much that drivers would have little reason to take note and change their behavior.

The House’s bill originally called for a $100 fine and two points against a driver’s license, but the version that passed March 11 lowers the penalties to $25 and no points.

House Minority Leader Rep. Harry Ott, D-Matthews, proposed dropping the points. Like with the state’s seat-belt law, he said, the texting ban shouldn’t be a “reward” for insurance companies that will increase premiums when points are reported.

If motorists don’t want their insurance premiums to rise, they should avoid distractions that keep them from driving safely. Points would give motorists an extra incentive to abide by the law. After all, higher insurance rates are more costly than a fine, in the long run, as motorists continue to pay their premiums.

Slashing the fine in addition to eliminating the points, however, seems to reduce the House bill to slap-on-the-wrist status.

The Senate has received the House bill and is working on its own texting ban, which falls between the penalties originally considered and ultimately passed by the House. The Senate version would carry a $20 fine, a $25 trauma care surcharge and one point against a driver’s license.

The Senate seems to have a better idea of which penalties would make a texting ban effective. Of course, senators could always offer amendments to dilute the bill or make it harsher before all is said and done.

The tougher the penalties, the better. The concentration needed to send a text is far too great a distraction from the already dangerous task of driving.

First of all, there’s the cognitive aspect of texting — thinking about what you want to say in your text message. Then, you have to take a hand off the wheel and, even more dangerous, your eyes off the road.

In 2008, nearly 6,000 people died in crashes involving a distracted or inattentive driver, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. In addition, such collisions injured more than half a million people that year.

Rep. Kris Crawford, R-Florence, offered amendments to the House texting ban that appear extreme, but he makes a good point — the ban should be passed to stop distracted driving, not for shallow political theater.

“I think that we were less interested in dealing with distracted driving than we were with ending up on the news,” Crawford said, “which is sort of disheartening as an emergency physician because if you’re going to say, ‘I’m going to make the roadways safer,’ people expect their elected representatives to do what they say they’re going to do.”

Crawford, who has served as an emergency room doctor in Lake City, offered amendments to ban eating, drinking, smoking, putting on or removing articles of clothing, and applying makeup while driving. Most of those measures would have gone overboard. After all, on a long trip, having a bottle of water or juice is almost a necessity in order to avoid dehydration.

As long as texting while driving remains an issue in the General Assembly, however, passing a meaningful ban on the activity is crucial.

According to the Governors Highway Safety Association, 20 states, the District of Columbia and Guam ban texting for all drivers. Six states — California, Connecticut, New Jersey, New York, Oregon and Washington — plus the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands prohibit handheld cell phone use while driving.

As technology progresses, South Carolina’s laws should keep pace. Texting is nothing new, but fortunately, our state lawmakers are finally addressing the problems it creates behind the wheel. They need to consider serious penalties that will make motorists think twice before picking up their cell phone and taking their eyes off the road.

— Unsigned editorials represent the views of this newspaper: Editorial Board members are Mark Laskowski (regional publisher), Sam Bundy (sports editor), Kimberly Ginfrida (content manager), David Johnson (regional circulation director), Charles Tomlinson (Lake City News & Post editor) and Jackie Torok (metro editor).