Oklahoma lawmakers and advocates gathered yesterday to urge drivers to obey a new law that makes it illegal to read or compose texts while driving.
State Rep. Terry O'Donnell authored the legislation that goes into effect Sunday, Nov. 1.
“It makes it illegal using any handheld electronic communication device to manually compose, send, or read an electronic text message while the vehicle is in motion,” O’Donnell said during a press conference outside the University of Oklahoma Medical Center’s emergency room in Oklahoma City.
Bruce Dees, the father of an Oklahoma Highway Patrol trooper killed while working an accident on the Interstate earlier this year, joined law enforcement, medical personnel and legislators to support the effort. Violations are punishable by a $100 fine.
“This is not going to be about these guys behind me writing tickets. That was never our thing,” Dees said. “To serve you and protect you is a thing. So if we can try to protect your life, save your life, we save you from harming somebody else or being very seriously injured.”
Dees' son, Nicholas was killed and Trooper Keith Burch was seriously injured when a man accused of texting while driving crashed into them in January while they were investigating an accident on Interstate 40.
The Oklahoma Public Media Exchange’s Michael Cross reports the Oklahoma Safety Council is helping employers raise awareness to their workers:
Executive Director Dave Koeneke says when people text, their eyes are off the road an average of 4.5 seconds, which is quite a distance on Oklahoma interstates. “It’s the length of a football field. I don’t advise people to try it, but they say, ‘Close your eyes for four-and-a-half-seconds.’ Consciously, you can’t do it,” Koeneke said. “You’ll open them because it scares you. But our mind goes somewhere else on that text. We’re reading it, we get engrossed with it, and we just don’t pay attention, and then all of a sudden, we’re drifting.” The Oklahoma Safety Council’s awareness campaign called “Practice Safe Text” includes breakroom posters, payroll stuffers and e-mail templates.
KGOU produces journalism in the public interest, essential to an informed electorate. Help support informative, in-depth journalism with a donation online, or contact our Membership department.
