Missouri May Finally Ban Texting While Driving

Currently, there are only two states in the U.S. that allow drivers to text while behind the wheel: Missouri and Montana. Every other state in the country has recognized that it’s dangerous enough to outlaw, but for some reason, those two states have been the last holdouts. Soon, though, that could change, as Missouri is getting closer to making it illegal to text and drive.

Forget Autonomy, Drivers Still Want Control

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The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that a bill to ban texting while driving only needs one more vote to pass in the state Senate and move on to the House. But it’s not like Missouri lawmakers don’t already realize texting and driving is dangerous. It’s currently illegal for drivers 21 and younger, but apparently, once Missourians turn 22, they gain safe-driving abilities they didn’t have the night before.

If the bill does become law, however, the police won’t be able to pull you over just because they catch you texting and driving. The bill originally would have made it a primary offense, but Republican Senator Rick Brattin successfully added an amendment that would make it a secondary offense, which means police have to find another reason to stop you before you can be ticketed for texting while driving.

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During debate, the bill’s author, Republican Senator Jason Bean, pushed back against the amendment, reportedly asking, “If a police officer sees this and they can’t stop the person then why are we doing the bill?” But Brattin defended his position, essentially claiming that if someone appears to be safely texting while driving, they’re clearly doing nothing wrong.

“If a police officer saw a person texting and said … ‘they’re not distracted; there’s nothing wrong,’ and then … 10 seconds later they hit a construction worker, they could’ve possibly stopped that, correct?” Bean asked Brattin. “In that hypothetical,” Brattin responded. “I mean there are so many variables. I mean, we’re not outlawing eating a cheeseburger.”

Great job dodging the question, Brattin. It’s not like the U.S. is the one developed country in the world where driving is getting more dangerous while everywhere else continues to get safer. Oh, wait. It is. But sure, we can trust Missouri drivers over the age of 21 to safely text while driving.