Washington, D.C.--Congressman Eliot Engel has introduced legislation to provide the states with incentives to ban texting, emailing or talking on a non-hands-free cell phone while driving. The bill, H.R. 3994, the Distracted Driving Prevention Act, is a companion to Sen. Jay Rockefeller’s (D-WV) bill in the Senate (S. 1938).

“Electronic devices have become commonplace, and essential to everyone’s daily lives. The temptations to use our phones, Blackberries or pagers while behind the wheel are strong, but extremely dangerous. Any person taking their attention off the road to answer an email or to type a text message is putting their lives, their passengers’ lives and other motorists’ lives in grave danger,” said Rep. Engel.

In its 2009 report on distracted driving, the NHTSA estimates that fully one-quarter of traffic accidents involve distracted driving. These resulted in nearly 6,000 deaths and over 500,000 injuries. In a recent poll by the American Automobile Association (AAA), 67 percent of respondents admitted using a cell phone while driving, and 21 percent admitted to sending or receiving text messages. Teen drivers are four times more likely to crash than older drivers due to their inexperience, and more than 60 percent of teens in a 2007 AAA study said they have engaged in risky behavior while driving, including 46 percent of those respondents claiming to have texted while driving.

The legislation would provide grant money for driver education and highway signage, both of which helped reduce the frequency of driving under the influence and without a seat belt, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. It would also create a national advertising campaign, administered by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), to educate the public on the dangers of distracted driving.

“I am pleased to see that New York State has enacted legislation to punish people who engage in such activity, but the law only treats it as a second offense, with a $150 fine attached. This legislation goes to the root cause of the problem and hopefully will prevent more occurrences by changing behavior. By providing states with resources to educate and inform, we will reduce tragedies on the road,” said Rep. Engel. A second offense indicates that a driver cannot be pulled over for texting, but can receive a ticket if pulled over for another violation, such as speeding.

Congressman Engel introduced the legislation along with the lead Republican co-sponsor, Rep. Jean Schmidt (R-OH).