Alabama Senate approves ban on texting while driving

MONTGOMERY, Al.
Texting while driving would be banned, with some exceptions, for all drivers on public roads and highways in Alabama, under a bill approved today by the state Senate.
The Senate voted 24-7 for House Bill 2 by Rep. Jim McClendon, R-Springville, which the House of Representatives approved by a vote of 92-0 two months ago.
The Senate added some exceptions to the proposed ban, but the House could give the revised bill final legislative approval if it were to go along with the Senate's changes.
Or the House could reject the changes and request that a conference committee of three House members and three senators try to draft a compromise version of the bill.
The bill would ban anyone from operating a vehicle on a public road or highway while manually using a cell phone or other wireless device to communicate by text message, instant message or electronic mail.
But under the Senate's version of the bill, exceptions to the ban on texting while driving would be allowed for:
--Emergency workers operating an authorized emergency vehicle ''in the due course of business.''
--Texting to obtain emergency services.
--Texting while the driver's motor vehicle was parked on the shoulder of a road or highway, or ''while the vehicle is stopped due to normal traffic being obstructed and the vehicle transmission is in neutral or park.''
Anyone violating the proposed ban on texting would face a fine of $25 for a first conviction, $50 for a second and $75 for each later conviction.
Each conviction also would carry a 2-point penalty on a person's driving record. A person's driver's license is suspended for at least 60 days if he or she gets 12 or more points in a two-year period.
Thirty-seven states already ban text messaging for all drivers, according to the Governors Highway Safety Association in Washington.