Houston mayor moves ahead on texting while driving ban

As promised by Mayor Annise Parker earlier this month, Houston City Council on Wednesday will consider an ordinance against texting while driving.

The mayor announced April 1 that she would present an ordinance to the council if the Texas Legislature failed to enact a statewide ban on texting while driving.

Although the Legislature is still in session, the mayor is moving ahead with a measure to prohibit the use of wireless communication devices for texting while driving.

Violators would be subject to a $500 fine.

The text of the ordinance notes that researchers at the Texas A&M Transportation Institute have released the first published work in the United States that examines texting while driving in an actual driving environment.

According to that research, a driver's reaction time is doubled when distracted by reading or sending a text message and drivers who faced a flashing light when texting were 11 times more likely to miss the flashing light, among other findings.

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Source: Houston Chron