Teens who text while driving may soon be breaking the law in Oklahoma.
Senate Bill 1908 would prohibit any driver 18 years and younger who has a learner’s permit or an intermediate driver’s license from using a hand-held electronic device to talk or text while the car is in motion. If a driver is found to be “distracted,” they may be pulled over and given a citation.
The bill passed the Senate and House and will become law if signed by the governor.
Rep. Sue Tibbs, R- Tulsa, author of the bill, said young drivers need to focus on driving and learning how to be a good driver instead of talking to friends and potentially endangering their lives or the lives of others.
“Considering the fact that we’re talking about 3,000 pounds of metal traveling at 40 to 75 miles per hour on autopilot, it’s clearly dangerous to have teens texting while driving,” Tibbs said. “It’s a dangerous situation that could lead to tragedy.”
Drivers know they should not text and drive, but do it anyway because there is no big penalty for when they get caught doing so, Rep. Danny Morgan, D-Prague, said.
“These are new drivers; they need to have both eyes focused on the road ahead, not on a cell phone screen,” said Morgan, who co-authored the bill.
Violation of Senate Bill 1908 would result in the suspension of the driver’s license, payment of court costs and ticket fees, according to the bill.
Morgan said he was somewhat disappointed by the elimination of provisions from the bill in banning all drivers from texting while driving, but is pleased of this step toward it.
“The evidence on texting while driving is so compelling that virtually everyone who is involved in highway safety or law enforcement has now endorsed a complete ban on texting while driving, and that includes everyone from AAA to the Department of Public Safety,” Morgan said. “This bill is a good start, and hopefully we will be able to complete the job in the next session.”
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the_main_man8 1 year, 11 months ago
Dylan, There are students from Norman metro area high schools who attend OU during their senior year as a concurrent student. They were 17 when two was enrolled in a course I took 2 semester ago. Also, There are students who enters OU as a freshman at age 17, and finally become 18 during their first semester here at OU. Plus, this may not affect OU, but it affects Oklahoma. I think OU's Daily should not only focus on OU's news, but also news that affect the state because students should know more than what happens at OU.
DylanC94 1 year, 11 months ago
Who in the hell at OU is younger than 18? This bill effects none of us!
TheTroll 1 year, 11 months ago
I agree with the_main_man (for reasons other than just saying the opposite of Dylan because they're mildly annoying).
There are people at OU who are under 18. Maybe not for long, but they're there. There are also incoming freshmen who may turn 18 soon that will attend OU. Regardless, the issue of profiling may arise here. Even though most of OU may be over 18, I bet there are many more who look like they aren't. Are cops capable of distinguishing who is 18 and who is not? Not entirely. They'll see someone texting, pull them over, check the license and if they are old enough, they'll slide.
But the end is nigh, it'll be extended to the rest of us soon enough.