Why Would Arizona Not Ban Texting and Driving?

By Dan Deary, posted in Phoenix body Shop on August 27, 2013

Senator Steve Farley of Tucson states, “(Texting while driving) is so far out there as a danger than anything else … it deserves to be called out as a specific practice that needs to be banned.”

With the rising importance and use of the world famous smartphone, they have created an uprising of states answering the call by implementing new laws preventing their use while driving. In 2010, twenty-eight states had texting bans. 2013 now has forty-one states that now enforce texting bans. According to a report conducted by the Governors Highway Safety Association, Arizona is one of the nine states left to not create texting banning laws; although, it does ban bus drivers from using their cellphone on the job. The main question now is why is it so difficult for Arizona to jump on the bandwagon and prevent accidents and fatalities by putting an end to texting in driving?

Each day car accidents in Phoenix are happening and one of the proven causes, texting, is just “dealt with” in Arizona. Phoenix Body shops are backlogged with cars yet Arizona continues to be only one of only nine states that have not banned texting while driving. Why?

In the past, Senator Steve Farley has introduced bills that would commence a texting while driving ban, his first in 2007 and a ban has followed every year since. Farley has also noted studies that show drivers are 2,300 percent more likely to get in an accident while they are texting. The report also looked at the following activities to be banned: the use of handheld devices, more specifically, texting in all drivers.

An individual who knows the dangers of texting while driving has tried to speak up as a warning to others is 47 year old Vinnie Sorce, a software tester in Chino Valley. Sorce lost his fiancée, Stacey Stubbs in a car accident in 2007 when 18-year-old Ashley Miller was texting as she was driving. She struck Stacey’s car and both women died in the accident. Sorce was an advocate for a texting while driving ban but is more discouraged because of the losing battle he is trying to win. Sorce states, “I can’t stand to see people arguing over it. I got tired of trying to convey it to people; nobody seemed to be listening.”

Each year, The Arizona Department of Transportation releases a report including data included distracted driving. The report for 2012 concluded, distracted/inattentive driving was the cause of 11,139 out of 195,762 accidents. The use of cell phones and other communication devices were responsible for 197 of the crashes. This data proves the use of cell phones and other electronic devices are causing a safety issue and this should be enough to push for a ban in Arizona.

If Arizona were to implement a texting while driving ban, it would entitle Arizona to a part of a $225 million fund for highway safety programs and repairs. A Triple A study showed that nine out of ten drivers in Arizona want to see a ban put in place, but lawmakers continue to reject the bans. Many things easily become habits and texting while driving has proven to be so. With eyes not on the road and people more distracted, accidents are more prone to occur, putting the life of the driver, passengers, and the lives of others in danger. Senator Steve Farley will continue to introduce news bans worldwide, hoping Arizona jumps on board. In the meantime, Steve Fraley still hopes to see a texting while driving ban in Arizona but is “not content to wait because lives are at stake.”

Although our Phoenix Body Shop depends on body repairs, our opinion is that increasing the odds of an accident and possible injuries to the people involved just don’t make any sense. With 41 states already on board, wouldn’t common sense prevail rather than politics? Just a question.

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