Following the lead of the city of Austin, the City Councils in Bellaire and West U Monday adopted ordinances to prohibit texting or web browsing while driving. Laws are in effect immediately, though not enforceable by respective police entities until proper legal notice is published and appropriate street signs are posted.
Officials in West University expect signs to be in place by about Jan. 1, while Bellaire’s enforcement will begin at a time to be determined in January.
“This one passes the common sense test,” said Bellaire Councilman Phil Nauert. “I don’t believe there’s any safe way to text while driving.”
Bellaire’s enactment of the ordinance was done with little fanfare, following West University’s process that was the focal point of significant attention in the greater Houston area.
‘We’ve brought an awareness to everyone that texting is not responsible,” said West U Councilmember George Boehme.
Note that both cities’ restrictions include bans on texting while stopped for a red light. If you’re in a driving lane, even if you’re not moving, it’s forbidden. Link via Hair Balls.
The Austin texting ban has been broadened so that you can’t even change music settings on your iPhone. I’m glad I use a shuffle (which I chose because it has no visual interface) for my road music MP3-playing needs.
whee! as a bicyclist, I’ve seen several folks text while at a stop sign. (and fortunately none while moving). But I agree with the reg. Even if someone is kind enough to avoid rolling and texting simultaneously, it does cause confusion when someone is stalled out at the stop sign for an extended period.
We really need to get to a point where people realize – Pull over, then text.