Attorney General Draws Attention to Dangers of Texting and Driving

Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller hosted AT&T Indiana President George Fleetwood and State Senator Tom Wyss in a statehouse press conference today urging drivers not to send or check text messages while driving. Indiana Public Broadcasting’s Marianne Holland reports.

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Texting and Driving Ban Approved by House

Tuesday the Indiana House of Representatives passed a bill that would ban texting for Indiana drivers. The bill, authored by Representative Joe Pearson of Hartford City, aims to expand on the current ban that only applies to drivers under the age of eighteen. Those who questioned the legislation, like Representative David Wolkins of Winona Lake, said they see no reason for the bill.

“Last Friday a new industry study was found that state laws banning the use of handheld devices to make calls and text messages while driving has not resulted in fewer vehicle crashes.”

Representative Vanessa Summers of Indianapolis voiced the opinion of many supporters of the bill by saying the bill will cause drivers to think before using their mobile device while driving. Eighteen states and the District of Columbia already have ban texting while driving.

-Brian Flood

Bill Would Ban Texting and Driving

Sending text messages while driving is illegal in 19 states and may be banned in Indiana as well. Jo Ann Klooz reports.

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Teen Driving Bill Moves Forward

The Indiana House Roads and Transportation Committee has approved a bill that would require teenagers to have at least 50 hours of supervised driving and wait longer before receiving a driver’s license. If passed, the new rules would become effective July of next year. But it would also ban teens younger than 18 from using cell phones and other telecommunications devices while starting this July. The bill also allows teens to get some of their driver’s education online. That’s a provision driving instructors like Donna Toms of Fort Wayne say is unsafe and will hurt businesses like hers. If approved, the bill would also limit night driving for teens and reduce the number of passengers a teen driver is allowed to have in their car.