A major crime bill passed by the state senate adds texting-while-driving to Missouri’s criminal statutes. Te bill has been sent to the House for acceptance of Senate changes to the original House proposal.
Senator Ryan McKenna of Crystal City says texting is–by far and away–the biggest distracting activity of motorists today.
One Senator argued that singling out texting as the only distraction that would be made illegal would mean the legislature was giving tacit approval to other activities such as the application of makeup, talking on cell phones, and drinking and eating. But McKenna argued that texting is such a major problem that it needs to be given special attention.
The Senate passed his proposal as a stand-alone piece of legislation earlier this year but the House has taken no action on it.