LOL: Bexley Council says texting and driving no laughing matter

(by Rachel Scofield, Staff Writer - July 15, 2009)

Text-messaging while driving is a dangerous trend that Bexley City Council wants to make illegal.

In a survey released last fall by Nationwide Insurance, nearly 40 percent of young adults admitted to texting while driving.

Across the country, newspapers report the gruesome consequences - four cheerleaders die when their car collides with a truck in New York, a toddler suffers a crushed skull in Texas, 46 passengers receive injuries in a Boston trolley crash.

Bexley Police Chief Larry Rinehart said that he has "no idea" how many Bexley accidents have been the result of texting while driving.

"The phone goes into the pocket long before an adult comes around," Rinehart said.

Currently, Bexley has a law prohibiting driving while distracted, which could be interpreted to include texting along with applying make-up and reading newspapers, Rinehart said.

Safety Committee Chair Jed Morison recommended that the city adopt an ordinance that specifically prohibits texting while driving.

Texting reduces reaction time by 35 percent, Morison said.

Councilwoman Robyn Jones said that on her way to the council chambers a driver on a cell phone cut her off.

"I wonder why we are not including cell phones as well?" she asked.

"Frankly I don't think we can get that passed," Morison said. "Texting is a two-thumb process with hands off the wheel and eyes off the road. It's a tool for parents to say to their kids, but it will apply to everybody, 'It's illegal, you can't do it.'"

Jones said, "In my experience it is usually moms on the phone rather than teens."

Morison said he believed other communities would follow Bexley's example.

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