Texting While Driving May Become Illegal In Austin
The City of Austin might become the first city in Texas to completely outlaw texting while driving.
On Tuesday, Mayor Pro Tem Mike Martinez said he would have an ordinance ready to go sometime in the next week or two.
Martinez said he’s been working on the issue for more than a year, but tabled the idea because there wasn’t any proof that texting while driving raised the risk of being in a crash.
That, however, all changed last week when the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a study saying people who text and drive are 23 times more likely to be involved in a crash.
“It’s really not about being punitive, or fining people or raising money. It’s really about affecting behavior and helping folks understand the severity of texting while driving,” Martinez said.
The fine for a violation would be a civil fine, which is similar to being caught by a red light camera.
But before texting while driving becomes illegal in Austin, it’ll have to be approved by a majority of city council members.
Source: News 8 Austin
February 9th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
[...] ordinance was passed by Austin City Council earlier this [...]