Texting while driving ban needs no change

Common sense has prevailed in Austin, at least when it comes to texting while driving.

Beginning Sept. 1, it will be illegal in the Lone Star State to be on your mobile device while operating a vehicle, subject to a fine of $25 to $200.

The law’s advocates will remember how a similar ban was passed in 2011, but then Gov. Rick Perry vetoed the measure describing it as government “overreach.”

Fortunately, Gov. Greg Abbott’s wisdom has surpassed that of his predecessor on this account.

But Abbott has made a peculiar request of the Legislature during the upcoming special session.

He wants clarifying legislation to “pre-empt cities and counties from any regulation of mobile devices in vehicle.”

The governor doesn’t want a “patchwork quilt” of laws regulating smartphones, which was the best argument for passing a statewide ban in the first place.

And the law already explicitly pre-empts local rules involving a driver using a mobile device to “read, write, or send an electronic message while operating a motor vehicle unless the vehicle is stopped.”

The law is solid, sufficient and overdue.

The Legislature shouldn’t waste time fiddling with it.

This story was originally published June 7, 2017 at 5:21 PM with the headline "Texting while driving ban needs no change."