Efforts To Outlaw Texting And Driving Fails, Again

Once again, an effort to outlaw texting while driving has been defeated in the Arizona Legislature.

An attempt by Sen. Steve Farley to attach the ban to the Omnibus ADOT funding bill has been defeated. This is despite Farley’s effort to link it with the death of a DPS officer, killed by a truck driver who was checking Facebook when he hit the officer’s cruiser,

“In the case in Yuma , where the defense attorney specifically got his client off of second degree murder charges because there is specifically no texting law in place, statewide,” Farley said.

But Senate President Andy Biggs argued there is already a distracted driving law on the books in Arizona , saying the texting ban would not have prevented the officer’s death.

“I find myself baffeled because this bill does not fix that. So to make that argument is a fallacy,” Biggs said.