TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) - Under current law, texting is a secondary offense, meaning motorists can only be cited for the offense if they have been pulled over for other reasons first.
Texting while driving was deemed illegal in 2013, but only about 4,000 tickets have been written for the offense since that time.
Senator Rene Garcia is the bill sponsor.
He said his legislation is not about taking away someone's personal freedom, but instead about overall public safety.
"We have gone through the educational component and the advocacy component of it already," said Senator Garcia. "We still see the number of fatal accidents increasing due to texting and driving. So, I think now, it is important to make it a primary enforcement."
Garcia hopes primary enforcement would change the social norms of texting while driving, in a similar way to how mandatory seatbelt laws altered the habits of drivers.
Identical legislation to Garcia's bill has also been filed in the house, along with another measure that would make texting while driving a primary offense, regardless of the age of the person in the driver's seat.
Similar proposals in the past have repeatedly been rejected by the legislature.
