Shoppers stop to support a texting ban for all drivers in Oklahoma

Thanks to the 20+ teens who collected over 700 signatures from voters in Oklahoma supporting an all-driver texting ban.

For photos of us playing distraction games and giving out prizes on Saturday, February 2nd from noon to 6 p.m. at Tulsa’s Woodland Hills Mall, see our actvities/special events tab.

We helped adults and teens alike learn more about distracted driving dangers, especially texting while driving.  Safe-driving strategy pocket cards, warning wrist bands and posters were given away.

Thanks also to Woodland Hills for your support of safer roads in Oklahoma for all drivers and passengers.

By Cole Inhofe, member GentXt since 2011

•  all photos of our event can be found on media/photos/it’s not OK to text and drive

Click to see the video Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks.

Generation tXt and other founding members of Drive Aware Oklahoma kick off a week- long state-wide campaign to deter distracted driving.  The message from legislators, law enforcement and AAA is clear.  Distracted driving is one of the leading causes of injury, property damage and death from crash.  Cell phone use, including texting while driving is the number one distraction of drivers of all ages.  Look for the STOP THE TEXTS, STOP THE WRECKS TV, Radio, Billboard and Print ads throughout the state this week.

Scroll down to send the message to our lawmakers,

“It’s Not OK to Text and Drive.”

Thanks to our Drive Aware Oklahoma speakers:

 AAA’s Danial Karns, Trooper Randolph, Anders Broussard, Officer Murray, Jeremiah Gentle, Fatima Kahbi and Cole Inhofe

Links to media stories about Drive Aware Oklahoma Week:

http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?subjectid=11&articleid=20121023_11_A5_Althou58855

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Growing-push-for-state-ban-on-texting-while/FF7y60HGf0WUcXcQGL1c9Q.cspx

http://www.newson6.com/story/19885234/safety-campaign-targets-texting-while-driving

http://www.krmg.com/news/news/local/oklahoma-group-pushing-make-texting-while-driving-/nSkjL/

Read more in the Edmond Sun! Our partners in Drive Aware Oklahoma held, simultaneously with ours,  a successful press conference in the Oklahoma City area.

http://www.edmondsun.com/local/x253547626/Crashes-happen-in-blink-of-an-eye

Legislators respond to their constituents’ needs and requests.  You may copy our sample letter and paste it into an email or send as a letter to your state senator and representative. Or, you can sign our legislative request. Just click below to make a difference!

• Click here to sign our legislative request.
• Please use your full name.
• Add your zip code in the comments box, so we can direct your signature to your own legislators. 

• Click here for  Sample letter to OK legislators
• Click here to find your state legislators 

For more information, see us in the news:

http://www.fox23.com/news/local/story/Petition-to-ban-texting-while-driving-in-OK/CRBoPb4yL0ywVj2WiDpzhg.cspx

http://www.fox23.com/mediacenter/local.aspx?videoid=3763706

Oklahoma’s Laws

Oklahoman
Published: June 14, 2010

Studies have shown that drivers who talk on cell phones are four times more likely to be in a crash and drive just as erratically as people with an 0.08 percent blood-alcohol level. Considering the fact that texting is 23 times riskier than talking on a cell phone while driving, drivers are taking an enormous gamble by being on the road when their eyes aren’t.

A study by Nationwide Insurance found that 80 percent of respondents favor a law to ban the use of cell phones for texting in cars.

After all the victim testimonials and stories of tragedies, after all the studies and reports showing texting while driving is more dangerous than drinking while driving, and despite the overwhelming swell of public support for a ban, our Legislature refused to prohibit texting while operating a vehicle.

For much of my time here at the Capitol, and especially for the past three years, I have worked to pass legislation to protect beginner drivers and those on our public roads. Many have contributed to the conversation, from every possible perspective, and over time by a campaign of education and awareness the need to ban texting while driving became self-evident.

Self-evident to all but the Oklahoma legislative body, that is.

Our efforts were watered down in the final days of session, and what will become law will only impact teenage drivers, and only after an accident or violation has occurred. Not before.

We had every opportunity to address dangerous driving habits and to save lives, but didn’t have the political will to enact real change. This is a disservice to our constituents and to all those on our public roads who have or may yet become a victim of the growing trend to text while driving.

One thing that confounds me is the argument that we already have distracted driving laws on the books and therefore specific language to address this new technological threat is unnecessary. If that were true, then I beg to question the necessity of drunken driving laws. If distracted driving laws encompass all forms of distraction, why not these also? Why wouldn’t they have been deemed duplicative and removed from the statutes? This argument and this logic are fatally flawed.

I would also disagree with those who claim that texting laws infringe on personal freedoms. Again I would reference our drinking and driving laws, as well as those that require seat belts, or car seats for children up to a certain age. Texting while driving is a serious and growing threat on our roadways. Efforts to rein in multitasking by restricting texting while driving is not about personal freedom but about public safety on our highways.

A study by Nationwide Insurance found that 80 percent of respondents favor a law to ban the use of cell phones for texting in cars. It is high time that the citizens of Oklahoma have their voices heard. Together we can achieve a safer environment for our loved ones and all who use our public streets and roadways.

Morgan, D-Prague, represents District 32 in the Oklahoma House, where he is minority leader.

Read this article on the NEWSOK website.

House Bill 3250, by Tibbs and state Rep. Danny Morgan, would penalize any person who is operating a motor vehicle on a street or highway while using a cellular telephone or electronic communication device to write, send, or read a text-based communication while the motor vehicle is in motion with a fine of up to $1,000.

“This is an important measure that hopefully will encourage drivers to pull off the road to a safe area if they must text someone,” said Tibbs, R-Tulsa. “This could save people from serious injuries or death. There’s no reason for innocent lives to be lost because a text couldn’t wait.”

House Bill 3250 also prohibits any driver operating under a learner’s permit or an intermediate driver’s license (class D) from using a cell phone to talk or text when the car is in motion. In addition, learner’s permit holders would only be able to drive between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. Violation of either provision would result in the suspension of the driver’s license, payment of court costs and ticket fees.

Tibbs noted that the Tulsa-based Crime Commission has partnered with students from Booker T. Washington High School to create a program that keeps Oklahoma’s teenage drivers safe on the road. State Farm Insurance is funding the “Generation tXt” program through their Youth Advisory Board grant in the amount of $35,453.

Generation tXt focuses on educating 8th and 9th grade students on the dangers of texting and driving through educational forums, videos, driving simulators and educational curriculum.

“I am so proud of these students for taking a stand and trying to educate their classmates so they can protect them from unnecessary car wrecks,” said Tibbs.

According to a Virginia Tech Transportation Institution study, for every six seconds of drive time, a driver sending or receiving a text message spends 4.6 of those seconds with their eyes off the road.

Each year, 21 percent of fatal car crashes involving teenagers between the ages of 16 and19 were the result of cell phone usage. That number is expected to increase as much as 4 percent every year, according to the study.

“Hopefully, if House Bill 3250 becomes law, no one will have to know how it would feel to kill someone because you had to text something to a friend that could have waited 10 minutes,” said Tibbs.

House Bill 3250 passed out of the House Public Safety Committee today. It will next receive a vote on the floor of the Oklahoma House of Representatives.

NOTE: For accompanying video, go to http://www.okhouse.tv/ViewVideo.aspx?VideoID=239

2/24/2010 4:25:00 PM

Contact: State Rep. Sue Tibbs

Capitol: (405) 557-7379