Should driving while texting be a crime?

A study conducted by Nationwide Mutual Insurance that was released this year found that 19% of all drivers -- and 37% of drivers between the ages of 18 and 27 -- text message behind the wheel. DWT seems particularly common among kids. McDonald first considered her ban last October, after she visited a high school and a group of students showed her how to send text messages by cell phone. "They were sending messages secretly while they were sitting in class," she says. "It wasn't long before it dawned on me that they were also texting while they were driving."

The discovery enabled McDonald to find a quick cosponsor across the aisle in Democrat Dawn Morrell, who said she had seen her campaign manager texting behind the wheel. "Imagine these kids driving along while they're breaking up with their boyfriends or whatever," Morrell says. "We laugh but it's scary."

At a recent hearing on the bill, McDonald and others testified before a largely impassive group of House Transportation Committee members. The legislature has turned down cell phone legislation eight years straight. But this time, it passed McDonald's bill. Many legislators seemed keen to enact some restrictions. One representative, Larry Seaquist, referred in the hearing to a bill that would "phase out" handheld wireless devices among drivers as "The Save My Wife's Life Act."

Lobbyists swing into action

Sprint Nextel, which opposes legislation that would limit wireless devices in cars, had a lobbyist that day in Olympia, Washington's capital. Sprint says curbing abuse is best handled through education and should focus on the full spectrum of driver distractions. The company has begun distributing a series of four posters to high schools around the country that highlight this strategy. One of the posters shows a burger and fries, while the others show a tube of mascara, a compact disc and a silver flip-top phone. The caption on the phone poster reads: "Cell Phone 4oz. Car 2,800 lbs. Taking the wheel is a ton of responsibility."

Few opponents argue that driving and texting -- any more than driving and drinking -- is a good idea. Instead, opponents focus on the dearth of statistics showing that wireless devices cause crashes. Indeed, there are few data suggesting that texting causes more wrecks than, say, fast food. A study conducted by the state of Washington in 2006 blamed "driver distractions" for 7.5% of the 50,000 reported accidents during the first nine months of that year. Of that number, the study said distractions prompted by "operating a handheld communications device," including text messaging, came in fifth, statistically in line with the grab-bag category of "driver interacting with passengers, animals or objects."

But police in Washington say not a day passes when they don't see a case of DWT, and that the statistics may not reflect the extent of the problem. Many wrecks have an undetermined cause, and DWT data rely on driver honesty. Current state law gives drivers little incentive to blab. The reward for honesty is a ticket for negligent operation of a vehicle, which draws a flat $538 fine.

The only way to independently determine whether the devices were in use is cumbersome. Police would have to get a warrant to subpoena billing records. But it would be hard to talk a judge into granting such subpoenas for a fender bender.

Trooper Jeff Merrill says the driver of the Dodge Caravan on Dec. 5 would almost certainly have gotten away with his carelessness had he not confessed. "He's been very upfront about it," Merrill says.

Merrill says the biggest problem with McDonald's legislation may be its enforceability. Though McDonald says more than 80% of her constituents who text behind the wheel would probably knock it off if the practice were outlawed, Merrill is skeptical.

"Hey, we've all done it one time or another, and I think people will continue to do it," Merrill says. "But if you're going to do it, you better be careful."

This article was reported and written by Christopher Cooper for The Wall Street Journal.

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