The Pa. Senate has passed a useless No Texting While Driving bill.

It's useless because it will not do what it aims to do which is prevent accidents. Other states have passed similar bills and so far none have been shown to prevent accidents.

According a study by the Highway Loss Data Institute:

ARLINGTON, VA — It's illegal to text while driving in most US states. Yet a new study by researchers at the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) finds no reductions in crashes after laws take effect that ban texting by all drivers. In fact, such bans are associated with a slight increase in the frequency of insurance claims filed under collision coverage for damage to vehicles in crashes. This finding is based on comparisons of claims in 4 states before and after texting ban, compared with patterns of claims in nearby states.

It may wll be that the penalties and fines for TWD in the states that have criminalized it are too lenient. If lawmakers are serious about wanting to prevent the accidents texting creates they should raise the penalties for this new crime to be a sufficient deterrent. A $500 fine would probably get peoples attention. A $1,000 fine would be even more effective.

It is irresponsible and stupid to text while driving. No doubt it increases the risk of accidents. But the texting law was proposed to make our roads safer. It won't, if the experience of other states is any measure.

At least our lawmakers can tell their constituents that they care about highway safety. But this stupid bill will do nothing to improve it.

Kudos to the lawmakers who had the guts to vote against it.