A bill to increase the penalties for texting while driving won approval Wednesday from the Senate Transportation, Technology and Legislative Affairs Committee after a tougher version stalled in the committee in January.
Senate Bill 374 by Sen. Will Bond, D-Little Rock, would increase the penalty to $250 the first time a motorist is ticketed for driving while texting and $500 for a second offense. The penalties could be doubled in the event the offense involved a traffic crash.
A previous version, Senate Bill 144, would have subjected texting drivers to an additional fine of not less than $150 and no more than $1,000 if the violation causes a crash. Fines also would have increased for subsequent offenses, including three or more that would open violators to a fine of up to $5,000 if they happened within five years of a first offense.
Bond said the new bill is modeled after a 2016 Louisiana law that he said has been "vetted down there and has tighter language" and is a more reasonable approach for responding to a dramatic increase in traffic deaths. Traffic-safety experts blame distracted driving for contributing to that increase.
After falling to a 50-year low in 2014, roadway deaths in Arkansas saw a 17 percent spike over the past two years, going from 466 in 2014 to 547 in 2016. The latter year's numbers are preliminary and usually end up higher by the time the numbers are verified.
"The main point of the bill is to clarify that it is illegal to text and drive in Arkansas and to enhance the penalties," Bond said.
Under current law, first-time violators are subject to a warning. A subsequent penalty carries a $100 fine.
Michele Paden of Mountain Home, president and chief executive officer of Families Against Distracted Driving, welcomed Bond's effort.
Her nephew was left a quadriplegic at 17 when he was involved in a traffic crash in a vehicle in which he was a passenger and the driver was texting.
While the driver was subject to fines totaling $330 and 120 days of community service, "my nephew is looking at life in a wheelchair," she said. "Our roadways are scary. You gamble with your life."
Bond and others say that without an even stricter law that restricts cellphone use to hands-free devices, enforcement will be difficult.
"This is a good step," said Joe Thompson, director for the Arkansas Center for Health Improvement. "The message is as important as enforcement."
A Section on 03/02/2017