Texting and Driving

3 biggest problems with the new ban on texting in Texas

Texting while driving is dangerous. Duh.

With all the hubbub in Texas over bathroom bills and whatnot, one bill that quietly swooped into place is a statewide ban on texting and driving. It goes into effect on September 1.

Governor Greg Abbott signed the bill but with reservations. At a news conference on June 6, he expressed concerns that a city could usurp the state's power and make its own local law to override the statewide ban, and his intent to make sure Texas doesn't turn into a "patchwork quilt" of regulations.

"I signed it into law today to ensure Texas is doing all it can to prevent accidents caused by texting while driving," he said. "Now that Texas does have a ban on texting while driving, I am calling for legislation that fully preempts cities and counties from any regulation of mobile devices in vehicles."

An amendment to the bill would be considered once the state's House and Senate reconvene July 18.

Abbott's comments, and the bill overall, pose problems on three levels.

First, inconsistency. Many cities have stricter laws than what has been passed at the state level. Austin, for example, outlaws the use of your phone while driving. Period. No exceptions. In total, 90 Texas cities have some form of ban.

Second, the bill is convoluted and confusing. In addition to outlawing texting and driving, you can't send an email or read a message if you're behind the wheel and the vehicle is moving. And yet you are allowed to use your phone to change the radio station, check on traffic, or get directions. You also can talk on the phone while you drive, even if you don't have a hands-free device.

It’s an odd contradiction, allowing you to use your phone while driving for some things and not others.

The third issue raises the biggest concern of all: Police will have the authority to pull drivers over they believe are texting.

Texas is one of the last states to pass a ban on texting (Arizona, Missouri, and Montana are the others). If caught, it's a misdemeanor charge with fines ranging from $25 to $99. Repeat offenders may get a bill for up to $200.

Efforts to get a bill like this in place have been in the works for more than a decade. A similar bill passed the Legislature in 2011, but then-Governor Rick Perry vetoed it, calling it a way to "micro-manage the behavior of adults." He’s not wrong.

Supporters of the bill argue it will make roads safer. Last year, 455 people were killed and more than 3,000 were seriously injured in crashes due to driver distractions, according to the Texas Department of Transportation.

Our reaction time on the road is slower when we're multitasking. But is texting really more dangerous than talking on the phone or changing the radio station? If the intent is to mitigate behavior, then the line drawn is arbitrary and confusing to keep track of what is legal and what isn't, particularly when those laws change between cities.

Not to downplay the risk. Texting and driving is dangerous. None of us should do it. In fact, during my last call to AT&T — billing issues, big surprise — they ended the call by asking me to not text and drive. I was a bit confused since I called about my DirectTV service. But whatever, the message is out. Don't do it. It's dangerous. Duh.

But just because it's a risk doesn't mean a law will do anything to curb the appeal of picking up the phone and sending a message to a friend when you're running late. I'll be the first to admit I've done it. I'm definitely a $200 violator.

Opponents say the bill is hard to enforce — which is hard to argue with — and that it encroaches on our individual liberties.

The most troubling element is that it allows police to pull over drivers they believe are texting. On its own, that may be okay. But in Texas, we already have to contend with Senate Bill 4, which allows police to inquire about the immigration status of people they lawfully detain.

This bill, which also goes into effect on September 1, is highly controversial, and there's already been pushback. On June 7 the city of Dallas joined Austin and San Antonio in calling it unconstitutional. Lawsuits filed by different Texas cities challenging the bill have been consolidated into one case. All positive news; a hearing on the bill will take place on June 26.

But the bill banning texting is highly disconcerting in conjunction with Senate Bill 4. Is it a false assumption to see a routine stop start with texting and end with deportation?

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Winter weather warning

Forecasters warn of 'potentially catastrophic' winter storm in Texas

Photo by Uliana Sova on Unsplash

This weekend could bring ice to Dallas-Fort Worth and beyond.

With many Americans still recovering from multiple blasts of snow and unrelenting freezing temperatures in the nation’s northern tier, a new storm is set to emerge this weekend that could coat roads, trees and power lines with devastating ice across a wide expanse of the South, including Texas.

The storm arriving late this week and into the weekend is shaping up to be a “widespread potentially catastrophic event from Texas to the Carolinas,” said Ryan Maue, a former chief scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“I don’t know how people are going to deal with it,” he said.

Forecasters on Tuesday, January 20 warned that the ice could weigh down trees and power lines, triggering widespread outages.

“If you get a half of an inch of ice — or heaven forbid an inch of ice — that could be catastrophic,” said Keith Avery, CEO of the Newberry Electric Cooperative in South Carolina.

The National Weather Service warned of "great swaths of heavy snow, sleet, and treacherous freezing rain” starting Friday in much of the nation’s midsection and then shifting toward the East Coast through Sunday.

Temperatures will be slow to warm in many areas, meaning ice that forms on roads and sidewalks might stick around, forecasters say.

The exact timing of the approaching storm — and where it is headed — remained uncertain on Tuesday. Forecasters say it can be challenging to predict precisely which areas could see rain and which ones could be punished with ice.

Meteorologists at WFAA say it's too early for an exact forecast across Dallas-Fort Worth. But it's good to start being weather aware.

Here’s what to know:

Cold air clashing with rain to fuel a 'major winter storm’
An extremely cold arctic air mass is set to dive south from Canada, setting up a clash with the cold temperatures and rain that will be streaming eastward across the southern U.S.

“This is extreme, even for this being the peak of winter,” National Weather Service meteorologist Bryan Jackson said of the cold temperatures.

When the cold air meets the rain, the likely result will be “a major winter storm with very impactful weather, with all the moisture coming up from the Gulf and encountering all this particularly cold air that’s spilling in,” Jackson said.

Texas could be a harbinger for other parts of the South
Some of the storm’s earliest impacts could be in Texas on Friday, as the arctic air mass slides south through much of the state, National Weather Service forecaster Sam Shamburger said in a briefing on the storm.

“At the same time, we’re expecting rain to move into much of the state,” Shamburger said.

Low temperatures could fall into the 20s or even the teens in parts of Texas by Saturday, with the potential for a wintery mix of weather in the northern part of the state.

Forecasters cautioned that significant uncertainty remains, particularly over how much ice or snow could fall across north and central Texas.

“It’s going to be a very difficult forecast,” Shamburger said.

An atmospheric river could set up across the Southern U.S.
An atmospheric river of moisture could be in place by the weekend, pulling precipitation across Texas and other states along the Gulf Coast and continuing across Georgia and the Carolinas, forecasters said.

“Global models are painting a concerning picture of what this weekend could look like, with an increasingly strong signal for ice storm potential across North Georgia and portions of central Georgia,” according to the National Weather Service's Atlanta office.

Highway and air travel could be tangled by the storm
Travel is a major concern, as Southern states have less equipment to remove snow and ice from roads, and extremely cold temperatures expected after the storm could prevent ice from melting for several days.

The storm is also expected to impact many of the nation’s major hub airports, including those in Dallas-Fort Worth; Atlanta; Memphis, Tennessee; and Charlotte, North Carolina.

Polar air from Canada to keep northern states in a deep freeze
Unusually cold temperatures are already in place across much of the northern tier of the U.S., but the blast of arctic air expected later this week is “will be the coldest yet,” Jackson said.

“There’s a large sprawling vortex of low pressure centered over Hudson Bay,” Jackson said of the sea in northern Canada that’s connected to the Arctic Ocean. “And this is dominating the weather over all of North America.”

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