Staff Report
Jim McClendon knows it’s dangerous to text while driving.
He’s done it himself.
“Just about everybody’s done it, even if it’s something as simple as ‘OK’,” said McClendon, a Republican state legislator from Springville. “But it would be just fine if we eliminated all of that.”
McClendon has pre-filed a bill that would ban texting while driving anywhere in Alabama. It’s not his first try. Earlier this year, he got a texting-while-driving ban through the House, only to see it die in the Senate.
When the bill comes before the House in February, however, McClendon might have an extra arrow in his quiver. On Tuesday, the National Transportation Safety Board went on the offensive against distracted driving, declaring that all cell phone use while driving is dangerous, and asking states to ban drivers from texting or talking on electronic devices while behind the wheel.
