Franklin
County Commissioners this week approved a resolution asking the
legislature to make texting and driving a primary offense in Florida.
Florida
is one of only 4 states in which texting and driving is not already a
primary offense, which means you can't be stopped for doing it unless
you break another traffic law first.
The
other states are Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
The
action was taken at the request of State representative Emily
Slosberg who represents the 91st district which includes
Boca Raton and Boynton Beach.
She
attended Tuesday's Franklin County Commission meeting to make a
personal plea for the board to support the resolution in the hopes it
will show state lawmakers how much support there is for the move
statewide.
Slosberg
has a personal reason for getting the stronger law passed as she lost
her twin sister and 4 friends in a car accident in 1996, an accident
that also put her in the hospital.
Last
session, Slosberg fought to make texting while driving a primary
offense and even offered a number of variations on the bill to
include only drivers under 18 and only drivers in school zones, but
the Legislature did not approve the bills.
She
said the move is just common sense.
Distracted
driving is the most common form of death for teenagers in the US.
A
study released in April also found that Florida drivers ranked second
in the country for distracted driving.
Slosberg
is now seeking support from county and city commissions in the hopes
that will push the legislature to take action.
The
Franklin County Commission approved the resolution unanimously.
They
also asked that the Franklin County Sheriff's office write a letter
of support in the hopes that will lead other law enforcement groups
to support the measure too.
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