Maryland Senate votes to ban text messaging while driving

The Maryland Senate on Tuesday approved a ban on text messaging while driving.

The measure, approved 43-4, would allow police to pull over drivers seen texting while driving and fine them up to $500, which would be considered a misdemeanor.

“This was the very least we could do to advance public safety,” said Sen. Jamie Raskin, D-Takoma Park, a sponsor of the text-messaging legislation. “We didn’t get to the end zone, but we’ve moved the ball to the 50-yard line.”

Raskin said he hoped eventually the legislature would pass a hands-free bill on cell phone use while driving.

The legislation now must be passed by the House of Delegates.

The Maryland Motor Vehicle Administration bans minors from using cell phones while driving, but there are no restrictions on adults. The text-messaging ban would affect all drivers.

“We know teen drivers already are our highest-risk drivers,” said AAA Mid-Atlantic spokesman John B. Townsend II. “Given the fact that teens are talking and texting on cells more frequently, we believe this should be addressed urgently.”

Eight states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving, and six states and the District allow only hands-free devices, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

The District’s ban on text messaging while driving is incorporated into the Distracted Driving Safety Act of 2004, legislation that made it illegal to use cell phones and other electronic devices without a hands-free accessory.

The law has been in place since August 2004; the Metropolitan Police Department has issued more than 42,000 infractions for “distracted driving” as a whole since then, according to Metropolitan Police Department spokeswoman Traci Hughes. About 11,900 were issued in 2008.

Safety is the biggest issue behind the legislation, Raskin said.

“This is the measure that’s going to save people’s lives,” he said.