Stop Texting-Drivers—or Lose Highway Funds

ALERT Drivers Act (HR 3535) along with SB 1536,
These are, bills designed to also curb texting while driving. Unfortunatly the way they are written it is nothing more than blackmail from the fed's again. while we all agree the texting has shown to have cause numerioua accidents and with the final judgment given this week the the train wreck that happen last year was an example, I feel that these bills will gain strength and we to see them changed.

To amend title 23, United States Code, to reduce the amount of Federal highway funding available to States that do not enact a law prohibiting an individual from writing, sending, or reading text messages while

MRF does not agree with these bills nor does The Governors Highway Safety Assn. (GHSA) has issue this statment:
" GHSA does not support the current version of the Alert Drivers Act of 2009—legislation that would require states to adopt laws prohibiting texting while driving or lose 25% of highway funds—as we feel states should be encouraged to pass texting bans with the carrot of financial incentives, not the stick of a sanction. In fact, this is a terrible time to consider reducing highway funding given the economic necessity of these dollars in the states. Additionally, 18 states have already passed these bans, with the majority of them having acted in 2009. We expect at least 30 more states will act in the next two years—all without federal intervention.

There are a number of other things the federal government can do to address texting while driving:

• Fund research to develop effective methods for enforcing texting and cell-phone bans. While a number of states currently have banned texting, enforcing such bans has proven difficult. Additional study of the effectiveness of state bans is needed.

• Sponsor research to determine the nature and scope of the distracted driving problem. It is very difficult to ascertain the entirety of the problem given that the public is unlikely to readily admit guilt in a crash investigation. Special studies are needed using subpoenaed phone records to determine the involvement of phoning or texting in a crash.

• Fund a media campaign to alert the public to the dangers of distracted driving. This effort is needed to help develop a culture that will make the practice socially unacceptable, similar to the way drunk driving has come to be perceived by the vast majority of the public.


Let the states decide, and stop the blackmailing to get your way.