Alabama House Passes Bill to Ban Texting and Driving

The Alabama House has voted to ban drivers from sending or reading text messages while operating a motor vehicle on Alabama roads.

The bill passed the House on a 92-0 vote Tuesday and now goes to the Senate for debate.

The traffic safety measure has been introduced for several years by Republican Rep. Jim McClendon of Springville. Last session it passed the House, but died in the Senate. An identical bill has already been approved by a Senate committee this session.

McClendon says he believes texting is a major distraction for drivers and banning texting and driving will save lives.

The bill calls for fining drivers $25 for the first offense, $50 for the second offense and $75 the third time caught texting while driving.