Crackdown on texting while driving clears Senate panel

Texting while driving would be a primary offense under proposed legislation that cleared the Senate Courts of Justice Committee Monday.

Senate Bill 219, sponsored by Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, cleared the GOP-controlled panel on a 10-4 vote.

The bill previously passed the Senate Transportation Committee only to be rerouted on the floor of the Senate to Courts. The detour did not deter Barker, and supporters such as the Automobile Association of America, from successfully making their case.

Barker said the rate of fatal accidents increases 23 times when texting is involved. Barker also said the incidents of texting while driving increased 50 percent between 2006 and 2009.

Barker’s bill would allow police officers to pull over motorists solely on the basis of having probable cause that a driver is texting. Currently, citations under the law may only be issued to motorists who have been pulled over for a separate offense.

Some senators on the panel expressed concern that the $20 fine for texting could supplant the more serious charge of reckless driving that could be imposed for erratic driving that arises from distracted-driving practices such as texting.

Others worried that the difficulty in determining whether a driver was texting as opposed to dialing or answering a cellphone call — which are legal — could result in unnecessary stops of drivers operating their vehicles lawfully.

“Doesn’t this lead to a lot of false positives?” asked Sen. William M. Stanley Jr., R-Franklin. “Are we opening a Pandora’s box in terms of the pervasiveness?”

But Barker and others said issuing more serious violations is still within the discretion of law enforcement. Further, they said the problem has become so prevalent that an additional step is necessary to deter the dangerous behavior and encourage compliance with the law.

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, D-Fairfax, posited that there wasn’t a single member in the room that hadn’t had a “near miss” on the road with a texting driver.

“I don’t see what evil could come from this bill,” he said.

The measure now returns to the full Senate for consideration.