Schumer Wants National Ban on Driver Texting

By BRIAN TUMULTY
Gannett Washington Bureau

WASHINGTON - Sen. Chuck Schumer is among a group of Democratic senators who say they will propose national legislation to ban text messaging by drivers.

The senators -- who include Robert Menendez of New Jersey, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Kay Hagan of North Carolina -- plan to announce details of their proposal at a press conference later today.

Earlier this week, the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute released a report that found truckers who use text messaging are 23 times more likely to be involved in a traffic accident than those who do not.

The study found that talking and listening to a cell phone increased the risk of an accident for drivers of automobiles, light trucks and heavy trucks, but the risk was most pronounced among truck drivers who used text messaging. The study did not look at drivers of passenger cars who use text messaging.

Drivers who used text messaging took their eyes off the road an average of 4.6 seconds over a 6 second interval, which was the equivalent of traveling the distance of a football field at 55 miles per hour, according to the study.

"Talking/listening to a cell phone allowed drivers to maintain eyes on the road and were not associated with an increased safety risk to nearly the same degree,'' the report said.