States Consider Another Ban: Driving While Texting

In my very dense state of New Jersey, legislators are considering yet another ban during driving. This time it's not just talking on cell phones, it's texting. And unlike talking on cell phones, which can only be cited by a police officer if he pulls you over for another infraction, officers would be able to pull drivers over specifically for texting if they spot them doing it while driving many miles per hour.

Drivers caught texting would be fined between $100 and $250, according to the bill that has 20 co-sponsors in both parties.

New Jersey is not alone on this one. At least three other states, including Washington, Arizona, and Connecticut, are considering similar legislation. Washington's state House passed a bill after a December pileup on a Seattle highway that police say was caused by a driver texting on a BlackBerry.

I'm sure most of us are guilty of talking on cell phones while driving, even if you live in a state where it is banned. Yet studies show again and again, it's a dangerous thing to do. And there's no difference if you're using a hands-free device; it's the brain activity that counts. Researchers have found talking on the phone while driving cuts the driver's brain activity in half in the areas of the brain needed to notice what's happening around him on the road.

So just imagine what happens to brain activity when a driver is focusing on punching out letters with his thumbs while driving on a highway or local roads. Yikes. I don't think another law is going to dissuade wired drivers from texting, but maybe more stories like the one about a Denver teen who accidentally killed a 63-year bicyclist while texting on his phone will. Patrick Sims, the remorseful high school senior, told CBS News in the fall: "I think about this car accident every single day of my life."

Admit it: Do you text on your cell phones while driving? If so, what will take you to stop—a law, a devastating accident, or, how about this, common sense?