City, state and national leaders set to hold discussion on distracted driving

The public is invited to attend a meeting at the University of Missouri to discuss distracted driving.

The National Transportation Safety Board and the Missouri Coalition for Roadway Safety are hosting the roundtable at the University of Missouri. The meeting begins at 9 Tuesday morning in Stotler Lounge of Memorial Union.

A news conference will be held after the roundtable to talk about "Buckle up phone down" day.

Distracted driving crashes killed 79 people in Missouri in 2018.

However, the deadly issue has not led to much change in state laws. Missouri is one of two states without an all-driver ban on texting while driving. It only bans texting for drivers under the age of 21.

The City of Columbia created a law in 2017, which specified the definitions of distracted driving. This did not include any laws regarding phone use, as state laws prohibit local governments from creating laws on the issue.