COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) -
After failing to pass last
year, texting and driving legislation is once again before South Carolina state
lawmakers.
As it stands, South Carolina is still one of
only a few states that has yet to pass any laws banning sending a text message
while driving. While the bill is still in the House, supporters are hoping that
South Carolina will soon join the 39 other states, D.C. and Puerto Rico who
have a ban on texting while driving. An additional five states ban texting for
beginner drivers.
Rep. Don Bowen of Anderson County
is the bill's sponsor and has been working for two years to pass the
legislation.
"We tried this bill in the last session, and we got it out of the House, but it didn't really have the legislative teeth that the bill needed,"
said Bowen.
Bowen says he's now more confident the bill will pass this go
round.
On Wednesday, several lawmakers got the
chance to test texting and driving simulators in the State House lobby. AT&T
set up the simulators in support of the legislation.
"We're hoping by putting
the teeth back into the bill, and the awareness has become so much greater than
it has in the past, that this time we won't have the opposition that we've had
to it," said Bowen.
As it stands, House Bill 3121 would make
distracted driving a misdemeanor with a $100 fine and two points off your
license. If it was found that texting led to a fatal accident, the fine could increase to $10,000 and 10 years in prison.
"We've had so many problems with
texting while driving, it's surpassed that of drinking while driving, and
we feel like it should have its own specific category at this point because
it's so serious of a crime," added Bowen.
But some, like Rep. Todd Rutherford
of Richland County, argue the penalties are too stiff and that the law invades
personal rights.
"The problem is that it's going to require an officer that
pulls you over to take your phone, and go through your phone to figure out what
you were doing," said Rutherford. "Because dialing on a cell phone and
texting on a cell phone, how is the officer going to know the difference?"
Bowen argues that's not the case.
"It's
not a matter of giving up your cell phone. A lot of people think that's what
this is about, and that's not what it's about," said Bowen. "If you're texting
and an officer stops you, you can tell him you weren't texting, and of course
if he still thinks you were, he can subpoena your court records. When you go to
trial he'll have the actual copies of what you were doing at that point in
time."
House Bill 3121 was scheduled to go before
the house for a second reading on Wednesday, however it was moved back to
committee. If the bill comes out of committee, it will have a second reading in
the House before going to a vote and then to the Senate.
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