Perry: Texting-while-driving ban is ‘government micromanagement’ [View all]
A spokeswoman for Gov. Rick Perry, just hours after a tear-laden House committee hearing on a proposed texting-while-driving ban, said Tuesday that Perry continues to see education rather than regulation as the solution for the increasingly widespread but dangerous practice.
The reaction from Perry aide Lucy Nashed would seem to bode ill for state Rep. Tom Craddick’s second attempt to push through a law barring adult drivers from texting or emailing while driving a moving vehicle. Perry vetoed a similar bill by the Midland Republican and former House Speaker in 2011, calling it a “government effort to micromanage the behavior of adults.”
“Gov. Perry continues to believe texting while driving is reckless and irresponsible, and as he noted last session, current law already prohibits drivers under the age of 18 from texting or using a cell phone while driving,” Nashed told the American-Stateman in an email. “The key to dissuading drivers from texting while driving is information and education, not government micromanagement.”
Witnesses appearing earlier Tuesday before the House Transportation Committee, which was considering Craddick’s HB 63, shared a number of stories about loved ones who died in accidents involving texting. Education alone, some said, will not be enough.
More at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local-govt-politics/perry-texting-while-driving-ban-is-government-micr/nWZz9/ .
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