“This Week” with Sen. David Pearce

More than 3000 people were killed as a result of texting and driving in 2013, and hundreds of thousands injured.

While it is illegal for people under the age of 21 to text and drive in Missouri, State Senator David Pearce has introduced a measure that would ban testing and driving for every driver.

As our guest on “This Week,” the Senator says it’s simply a matter common sense. Here’s a transcript of our conversation:

David Pearce: If it’s a law that’s good enough for the young people, it should be for everybody. And ironically, it’s the young people who can text better than anyone else and yet it doesn’t cover the rest of the population. That’s why the bill is here this year.

Joey Parker: There will be people who will say, “Hey, you’re infringing upon my rights!” What do you say to those folks?

David Pearce: Well, it’s a safety issue. If a person was texting and the only person they were going to harm was themselves, that might be a personal rights issue, but when you’re texting and driving you’re 23 times more likely to be in a wreck. It’s more dangerous than drunk driving, and so when people are texting and driving they’re threatening the safety of others. so that’s why this bill has been filed

Joey Parker: There are people who argue that it’s no more distracting than kids in the back seat or adjusting the radio and things of that nature.

David Pearce: We have to start somewhere. And when you’re taking your eyes off the road to type, that’s just not safe. If somebody said 15 years ago that we’d be typing and driving, people would say “you’re crazy.” But this has just evolved, and technology is here, So, I think we need to make some reasonable accommodations so that people are not texting while they’re driving.

Joey Parker: Senator, is there a personal reason behind this?

David Pearce: A good friend of mine, Senator Ryan McKenna, always proposed this bill. And when he left the senate, I felt that someone should take up this issue. Also my son saw me texting and driving and he just looked at me very honestly and said, “Dad, you’re going to die. So, that really made a big impact on me. It’s just a matter of fact: If you text and drive you are endangering the lives of other.

Joey Parker: And, you have the support of many others right?

David Pearce: Yeah. There’s a lot of groups that are in support of it. I know the bicycle/pedestrian group are behind it, insurance companies, cell phone companies in fact, are in support of it. Law enforcement, for the most part, they have taken a position not being opposed to it because typically they don’t support legislation, but they like the idea that the roads are highways are safer.

Joey Parker: So, more than just texting and driving, we are talking about overall distracted driving?

David Pearce: Well, right now, it would not include a smart watch, and you’re right, technology is changing all the time and also technology can be an assist. It can be a help in that area. For example, a lot of states allow hands-free talking on your phone or hands-free texting. And, so technology can also help with the situation, as well.

Joey Parker: What do you think the biggest obstacle would be trying to get this moved through?

David Pearce: I think one of the biggest obstacles is what is distracted driving? Is turning on your radio? Is waving? Is making a phone call as opposed to texting and those are some difficult things. One thing law enforcement told us is, right now it is hard to enforce because it is for 21 and younger. And when you are driving by is that person 21 or 22, 18? So, it puts a lot of subjectivity on law enforcement right now to enforce it. If it was for everybody, it would be a lot easier to enforce.

Joey Parker: Speaking of enforcement, there are issues of privacy. If a police officer pulls you over and says, You were texting and driving.” You say, “No, I wasn’t.” And they say, “Let me see your phone!” What about Fourth Amendment issues…search and seizure?

David Pearce: Well, I think, I think there have been prior cases where law enforcement is not able to seize a telephone, and I certainly would not be in favor for that. To me, it is more than just a phone. It does have a lot of private information, so we aren’t going down that road. It’s mainly the process of texting while you’re driving. Missouri is certainly behind other states. Right now, 44 states have banned all texting and driving, so there’s just six of us who still even allow texting and driving. A lot of states don’t even allow you to talk on your phone unless its hands-free. This legislation doesn’t do that, but I think Missouri should follow the lead of these other states who have banned texting and driving.