Tons of people do it, your mom yells at your for it, and the cops are cracking down. A texting and driving bill has advanced in legislature.
On Feb. 8 by a 4-1 vote, a texting and driving bill was advanced. The bill increases penalties for drivers convicted of distracted driving related to cell phone use. The bill passed through the State’s Senate, Veterans & Military Affairs Committee.There were some changes made to the language of the bill. Several penalties were changed to gain more bipartisan support. Sponsored by Sen. Lois Court, D-Denver, the bill originally included a fine of $500 and five points on a driver's license for a first offense. Second offenses will rise to a $750 fine and six points on your license. Currently, the law stands at a $50 fine and one point, and for repeat offenders a $100 fine with one point on your driver's license. With the bill’s rewrites, the penalty will be a $300 fine and four points on a driver’s license per occurrence. State Rep. Jovan Melton, D-Aurora, is sponsoring the bill in the House. If you didn’t watch school house rock, the next step for the bill is a vote by the Senate Finance Committee, which will be on Feb. 16. Court is pretty confident the bill will continue to advance to full Senate and move to the House by the end of the month. Regardless of the potential of a hefty fine now looming over your head, you just shouldn’t text and drive. Texting and driving is a serious risk you're creating for yourself, other drivers, pedestrians and anyone else who may be riding in the car with you. It doesn't matter how skilled of a driver you are, if you take your eyes off the road for even a second, anything could happen. It's important to stay vigilant, especially when driving a giant metal machine. Do you really need to check that notification? Or take that snapchat? Probably not.
