The Maryland General Assembly is considering legislation that would place a ban on text-messaging while behind the wheel in the state. Sen. Mike Lenett proposed the measure in response to the increasing appearance of cell phones being used in the driver’s seat.
The proposal, presented by Lenett, includes measures that would ban the use of any hand-held electronic device while driving, whether it be a cell phone or another text-messaging device.
The proposal would make the use of hand-held electronics a primary offense, which means that one could be pulled over by a police officer if seen using a hand-held device. The ban would be limited to text-messaging and would not include cell-phone use as the assembly was not able to come to a consensus over whether or not verbal phone use should be considered a potential danger to drivers.
Seven states already have bans on texting while driving: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Louisiana, Minnesota, New Jersey and Washington.
“[The ban] would be useful because it’s true,” said junior Reggie Leslau. “People can’t drive while looking at their phones, so it would be too dangerous to text while driving.”
Freshman Justin Bruch cites the possible dangerous implications of texting while driving.
“Texting while driving is really dangerous, because you can’t see the road,” he said. “I support the ban because it will make the roads safer and decrease the traffic congestion on the roads.”