Number of States Banning Texting While Driving Doubles in '09

North Carolina Becomes 14th State to Ban Dangerous Driving Habit

WASHINGTON, June 19 Today, North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue signed a law banning all drivers from text messaging while driving. The Tar Heel State becomes the 14th state with this law. In just the first six months of 2009, seven new states have passed broad texting while driving bans, bringing the total to 14, plus the District of Columbia. As of December 2008, only seven states plus D.C. had enacted similar legislation.

GHSA expects this number to continue to grow -- the 2009 state legislative season has already seen more than 200 proposed distracted driving regulations. According to GHSA Executive Director Barbara Harsha, "There's a tremendous amount of interest in state legislatures and the highway safety community in the distracted driving issue. Regardless of the law, texting and driving should not mix. We need to restore some common sense to driving."