[Saulbadguy]

http://cjonline.com/stories/020909/bre_texting.shtml

Key message: KHP down on texting, driving
The Capital-Journal
Published Monday, February 9, 2009 at 2:54 p.m. CST

The Kansas Highway Patrol today offered a heavy message for motorists who like texting while behind the wheel.
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Sending, reading and writing messages on a cell phone is dangerous at the least and lethal at the worst, said KHP Maj. Mark Bruce.

“It is no surprise that the ability to safely operate a vehicle diminishes as our attention is divided in the performance of multiple tasks such as driving and sending, reading and writing text messages,” Bruce told the House Transportation Committee.

The committee gathered testimony today on House Bill 2132, which would make it illegal for driver of a vehicle in Kansas to engage in text messaging. The highway patrol and the Kansas Department of Transportation endorsed the legislation.

Pete Bodyk, manager of the traffic safety section in the transportation department, said seven states and the District of Columbia ban texting while driving. Nine other states prohibit novice drivers from driving while using a texting device.

“Far too many lives are lost on our highways each year,” Bodyk said. “Any law that removes a distraction from a driver will contribute to making all travelers in Kansas safer.”