Alabama Representative Jim McClendon-R, Springville, is sponsoring a bill during the current legislative session that would ban text messaging while driving. Currently there are no state-wide bans on cell phone use while driving, though Representative McClendon sponsored similar bills in both 2010 and 2009. Both were passed by the Alabama House of Representatives and rejected by the Senate.
Distracted Driving in Alabama
Alabama has the second highest number of teen driving fatalities in the country, second to Mississippi. Teens are often guilty of distracted driving by using their cell phone and texting while driving. The Alabama Department of Public Health launched a campaign August 26 to educate and warn teens about the dangers of distracted driving.
Many cities have passed local ordinances banning the use of cell phones and texting while driving. Cities and towns in Alabama that have passed bans include Daphne, Athens, Decatur, Birmingham, Huntsville, Montgomery, Madison, Vestavia Hills, Gadsden, Jacksonville and Roanoke.
In Daphne, high school student Jasmine Lee stepped up to propose a city-wide ban on texting and downloading on handheld devices while driving. She has also proposed her distracted driving ban to the city council of Spanish Fort.
Distracted Driving Statistics
Distracted driving is composed of three impairments: visual, manual and cognitive. Texting while driving is especially dangerous because it involves all three types of distraction. According to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, drivers that use handheld devices are four times more likely to be involved in a serious crash.
According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 20 percent of motor vehicle crashes causing injuries in 2009 involved distracted drivers. Of those killed in distraction related crashes, 995 involved reports of a cell phone causing the distraction.
Those under age 20 are the age group with the highest proportion of distracted drivers. Of these young drivers who were involved in fatal crashes, 16 percent reported that they were distracted at the time of the crash.
