Should Wisconsin ban texting while driving?

Legislature must act on distracted drivers

That question goes in the "duh!" category. Of course it should! Drivers should focus all their attention on driving. If they cannot, they should pull over and stop.
Texting is just one issue. The worst problems are using cell phones while driving (it does not matter if it's hand-held or hands free -- it's the mental distraction) and drunken drivers.
Considering that Wisconsin has the weakest laws on drunken drivers in the nation, do you think our Legislature will deal with the cell phone and texting issues? Of course it will not.
Why doesn't the Legislature care about distracted and drunken drivers? I hope voters will challenge their individual legislators with that question and demand good answers. Until Wisconsin passes and enforces strict laws on drunken and distracted driving, the excessive carnage on our highways will continue unabated.

-- Jeff Dean, Madison

Text messaging causes avoidable accidents

Banning texting while driving is a no-brainer. Sending or reading text messages while driving absolutely diverts a driver's attention from what they're supposed to be doing -- driving!
Cell phone calling is bad enough, but texting and e-mailing while driving is begging for tragedies that are completely avoidable.

-- Bob Winding, Madison

Danger whenever eyes are off the road

Texting should be outlawed for both the safety of the driver who is texting as well as the potential victims who could be driving, walking or biking. It is downright dangerous.
Since I occasionally make a cell phone call while driving, I know how distracting it can be and I try to keep them to a minimum. As an avid biker, I am concerned that a driving "texter" could be as dangerous or even more so than a drunken driver. The amount of time that texting requires one to take their eyes off the road is totally unsafe.
The problem with enforcing such a law is that cell phones can quickly be hidden or turned off if you're stopped by the police.

-- Tom Crozier, Middleton

Is 'progressive' state waiting for feds to act?

OMG. As usual, Wisconsin will be one of the last states to ban texting while driving.
I thought Wisconsin was known for being "progressive." We are already second to last to require car insurance. It's outrageous that we're discussing whether or not texting should be banned. The question should be "why is it taking so long?"
The lawmakers in Wisconsin are just waiting for the feds to pass a law to protect our citizens. Cell phone use should be illegal while driving, no matter what.

-- Rick Krakau, McFarland

Pass the law, but will violators care?

Eating, driving under the influence, reading papers or books, applying make-up and more -- all are inattentive driving. Laws will not stop those who continue to break them.
It's a no-brainer. Only those without enough brains to know better than to text while driving would want this to fail!

-- Mike Kirchgessner, Madison

Texting law could save many from injury, death

In 2006 I was hit at an intersection that had a traffic light by a person who ran the red light. Since that time I never proceed until I see that cars are stopped.
I would have been hit twice by people on cell phones who were totally unaware the light was red for them.
Imagine how many people could have been injured or possibly killed. Something has to be done.

-- Mary Ellen Schmit, Sauk City

Informal count shows one in three on phones

Thanks for the editorial on the dangerous practice of texting while driving. Making sure that no one has a phone in their hand while driving would be even better.
My husband and I drive on the interstate quite often, and we count one out of three people driving are on cell phones. They speed up, slow down, drift towards the center lane, don't use their signals or fail to move when the light turns green.
Please let us know where we can get in touch with proponents who want to ban cell phones behind the wheel. The lives we save might be those of the thoughtless cell phone users.

-- Karen Brynd, Windsor

Just passing law could deter most texters

There should definitely be a law against texting while driving. That seems obvious.
I have no idea how the law would be enforced, but perhaps the law would deter most people from texting while driving.

-- Regis B. Miller, Madison

Veteran driver's seen numerous near-misses

It's not a question whether texting should be banned, but how soon. They should also include in the law a ban on driving while talking on a cell phone.
I have driven thousands of miles in 18 wheelers and tour buses, and seen countless people driving through stop signs or on the wrong side of the road, nearly hitting people in crosswalks and causing many other near-accidents while talking on cell phones.
Several years ago our 16-year-old daughter would have been killed in a head-on crash if she would not have been wearing a seat belt. The other driver was talking on a phone. Passengers and the driver in the other car suffered serious injuries. Since then I have buckled up. There is now a law requiring everyone to buckle up.
How many people are injured or killed each year by people texting or talking on cell phones? When I see on the news that people have been injured or killed on good roads, I always wonder what were they doing while driving.
Pass this law, including a ban on talking on cell phones, and start saving lives.

-- David L. Raymond, Belmont

Nervous just driving behind cell phone users

Wisconsin should immediately pass a law banning texting while driving. It is just ludicrous the way people are inattentive while driving on a cell phone or texting. I shudder every time I am in back of a person not paying attention for those reasons.

-- Nancy Allen, Oregon

When hands engaged, how can you steer?

Ban not only texting and drugged or drunken driving, but using a cell phone while driving too.
I saw a woman using her cell phone and brushing her hair while driving at the same time. It made me wonder how she was steering the car with no hands -- maybe by using her knees! There are many out there who are guilty.
When I drive and need to use my cell phone, I pull off the road or into a parking lot. This way I can be safe from the danger of harming someone else. It's the same when I receive a call, or I can call back at a later time.
My dad always had a saying: "You can't talk and chew gum at the same time." That is why we need a law that bans the use of cell phones and texting equipment while driving a motor vehicle of any type -- car, truck, bus, etc.

-- John H. Anderson, Janesville

Drivers at fault; victims get punished for life

I believe Wisconsin should ban texting and talking on cell phones while driving. My opinion on this changed when I became a victim in a motor vehicle accident.
While stopped at a stoplight, a vehicle hit me at a very high rate of speed, leaving me with injuries that nearly ended my life. The driver wasn't following the laws himself, but I was the one who got punished for life.
This is why I believe people need to focus more on safety and laws of the road, and not on their phones. It could be you becoming a victim next time or -- let's hope not -- a criminal.

-- Sara Hamann, Lake Mills

At least law would be step in right direction

The use of cell phones while driving should be banned altogether.
I'm a delivery driver in Madison and have had and seen many close calls with these people who pay more attention to their conversations or texting to other people. Lately texting has become just as popular, if not more so, than talking.
Whatever happened to driving being a privilege? It's just like everything else -- it's no big deal until someone gets killed. Ban cell phone use while driving and make the penalty stiff. These idiots need to understand that they are not the only ones on the road.
Now, enforcement of this law would be a whole different issue, especially since the police can't enforce obvious traffic infractions such as speeding and reckless driving. But after a full day of driving, my goal is to make it home safely to my beautiful family, so we've got to start somewhere.

-- James Nilles, Cross Plains

Distracted driving causes most accidents

Texting is only a small part of the problem. The more general term for texting and other cell phone usage while driving is "distracted driving," and it's the number one reason for auto accidents.
How many times have you seen someone swing a big SUV into a parking slot with cars on both sides and a cell phone slapped upside the driver's head? How many times have you seen someone texting at a stop light who doesn't stop when the light turns green?
Wisconsin has passed laws that make drunken driving illegal, smoking in public places illegal, driving without a seat belt illegal -- why are they so hesitant to make driving while texting and cell phone usage while driving illegal?
Are they afraid of offending voters by passing this necessary law?

-- Michyle S. Glen, Columbus

Avoid more lost lives by passing law now

While driving to Milwaukee to a Brewers game on a recent Saturday afternoon, we passed a car with a driver who looked about 12 years old. He probably was 16 and had a license, but he looked extremely young, and he was texting while driving.
This went on for miles. It was very disconcerting, and I would have loved to have summoned a police officer, but my husband reminded me that Wisconsin does not yet have a law.
It is time to pass that law, and I'd add, what has taken us so long? That young man's behind-the-wheel behavior could have caused an accident or cost a life. Let's not wait until more lives are taken. The time to pass the law is now, not months from now.

-- Linda Messer, Prairie du Sac

We thought talking was bad -- until texting

Wisconsin should ban texting while driving. Sure it's fun to talk to friends all day, but you're risking a lot when you don't even know it. Suddenly drivers talking on their cell phones seem relatively harmless, at least when compared to drivers who are staring at their cell phones texting!
I've read that an estimated 20 percent of drivers send or receive text messages while behind the wheel, and that the number skyrockets to over 60 percent when drivers ages 18 to 24 are isolated.
This practice, especially popular among young people, is exacting a deadly toll. According to a poll I read, over 90 percent of Americans agree that text messaging while driving is just as dangerous as driving after having a few alcoholic beverages. But, over 50 percent admit that they do it.
Half the states have already outlawed or restricted the practice. Why not Wisconsin too?

-- Tammy Zhong, Madison

Law won't make up for lack of common sense

Obviously there should be a law against texting while driving. But I doubt if a law would do any good.
Most drivers don't obey speed limits. About 15 percent do not have car insurance. Too many drivers are drunk or drugged. And we have all read about abuse of handicap parking laws.
Why would a law against texting change anything? No law can circumvent the lack of common sense.

-- Wayne Haskins, Mount Horeb