Texting & Driving Ban Could Soon Come to Mississippi

How often do you see someone driving next to you, not looking at the road, but at their cell phones?

You may see a lot of that now as texting and driving is not illegal in the State of Misissippi, but that could soon change. Mississippi is moving closer to cracking down on texting a driving. A bill that will outlaw texting and driving passed through the House this week. The bill would also ban posting to Facebook and checking or sending emails while driving.

Benjamin Seibert, Public Information Officer for the Mississippi Highway Patrol, says, "I myself, I’ve worked three fatalities as a direct result of text messaging. So many people, because they do it so often, they get a false sense of security, you know, they did it a few times before, nothing happened, but all it takes is one time to ruin your life."

Shawn Owens, a Gulfport resident, says, "I honestly feel like it should be passed. It’s pretty dangerous. I’ve had an accident myself texting and driving so I would actually encourage that."

Some Mississippi lawmakers have been pushing for the ban for a while. A similar bill died last year on the last day of the legislative session.