There is a saying making the rounds — sometimes it is posted in front of churches — that reads: "Honk if you love Jesus. Text while driving if you want to meet Him."
It tends to bring a chuckle, but the underlying message is deadly serious: Those who text while driving are risking injury and even death for themselves and others.
So a bill endorsed by a House-Senate conference committee of the Legislature this week that bans texting while driving, even for those in law enforcement, is long overdue. It is simple common sense. Yet it took more than 100 days to get the bill out of conference committee. Part of the reason for the long delay is that it also deals with one of most controversial issues in the state — elderly drivers. It requires drivers 75 and older to renew their licenses in person at the Registry of Motor Vehicles and take a vision test every five years.
Something of this importance should not take nearly that long, but congratulations to state Sen. Steven Baddour, D-Methuen, co-chairman of the Transportation Committee, who along with others kept pushing to make it happen.
There is an argument to be made that talking on a cell phone while driving is no more distracting than talking to the person sitting next to you in the car. And the bill that came out of a House Senate conference committee doesn't ban talking on the phone, except for those younger than 18.
But, texting is entirely different. A driver can look at the road while talking on the phone. No driver can look at the road while typing out a text message. It should have been banned as soon as technology made it possible.
The penalties are moderate — $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second and $500 for any subsequent offenses. It is also considered a primary offense, which means a police officer can stop and cite a driver believed to be texting while driving.
Perhaps those penalties should be even stiffer. The risks, and potential carnage, from texting at the wheel are enormous.
Lawmakers frequently overuse the phrase, "Lives are at stake," when pushing for yet another government program. But in this case, lives really are at stake.
This is something that won't take a government program. All it will take is strict enforcement of common sense.
