news-record.com

Driving and talking on a cell phone is dangerous, but driving while texting is an accident begging to happen.

This session, North Carolina legislators join their counterparts in more than a dozen states considering bills that would specifically prohibit texting while behind the wheel.

Although the intent is commendable, enforcing such a ban would be next to impossible. Unless an officer just happens to witness a driver in the act of texting, the chances of collaring anyone would be slim.

The bill's sponsor, Sen. Steve Goss, D-Watauga, correctly observes that texting takes driver inattentiveness to another level. He's not alone. A recent national survey showed that nearly 90 percent of people polled agreed the practice should be outlawed.

In a sense, such legislation is the next logical step in light of the state's bans on teenage drivers and school bus operators talking on cell phones.

But their effectiveness remains in doubt. An insurance industry study, released last summer, found that cell phone use by high school students was about the same as before the law took effect in 2006. Again, the sticking point has been nabbing offenders in the act. With little fear of being caught, violations persist.

Also, while texting and at the same time trying to drive safely is fraught with danger, doing so in standstill traffic would be harmless. The law, as proposed, doesn't differentiate.

Distracted driving causes accidents, whether it's talking on a cell phone, fiddling with the radio or eating. Texting, however, is particularly dangerous because it both takes eyes off the road and creates a mental distraction. It deserves to be singled out.

Yet, as it stands, even with the proposed law's $100 fine for violations, there would be negligible impact unless offenders run a reasonable risk of being pulled over. So far, that elusive challenge isn't being met.