By Emily Younker
eyounker@joplinglobe.com
WEBB CITY, Mo. — Webb City residents may soon have another reason to put their cell phones away while driving.
The City Council is considering an ordinance that would ban texting while driving for anyone 21 and younger. The proposed ordinance mirrors a state law that went into effect in August.
Police Chief Carl Francis said he favors adopting the state law as a city ordinance because it would allow officers to write citations that would go through municipal court rather than Jasper County Circuit Court. Violations of state law must go through the county court, he said.
“It’s more beneficial strictly because it’s easier for us to process tickets through municipal court,” he said. “And it doesn’t burden down the county prosecutor with municipal citations.”
But Francis acknowledged that the ordinance may be difficult to enforce.
“Anybody could be looking at their cell phone, but that doesn’t mean they’re texting,” he said. “You would have to see a person typing. Where you’re going to run into trouble is when they say, ‘I was dialing a number.’ ... Very rarely does somebody admit they were talking on their cell phone or texting.”
Francis said Webb City police haven’t ticketed anyone yet for texting while driving.
“I do not foresee this as something that will be written very often,” he said.
The state law prohibits anyone 21 and younger from reading, writing or sending text messages while driving. It does not apply to law enforcement officers, firefighters or ambulance drivers while they’re working, nor does it apply to anyone who is contacting emergency services.
The law specifically allows drivers to talk on their cell phones while driving; texting in a vehicle that is parked or stopped also is allowed.
Citations issued under the state law are considered moving violations and are assessed as points on an individual’s driver’s license.
Council members have offered mixed viewpoints on the proposal.
Councilman Don Darby said he disagrees with a texting ban that targets only young motorists. Councilman Jerry Fisher questioned why emergency personnel would be exempted from the ban.
Both expressed an interest in broadening the ordinance to ban texting for all drivers. But city Prosecutor Troy Salchow said he doesn’t think that is possible, and that the city ordinance would be pre-empted by state statute
Councilman Don Meredith said he is hesitant to adopt an ordinance that he thinks might be unenforceable.
He also said it could open the door for ordinances that ban other driving distractions.
“It’s a good idea, but where does it stop?” Meredith said. “You see ladies going down the street putting lipstick on (while driving). Where’s it going to stop?”
Mayor John Biggs said he thinks adopting a city ordinance to reinforce state law would be effective.
“There will be people who won’t do it (text while driving) because it’s against the law,” he said.
The measure that is now state law was introduced last spring by state Sen. Ryan McKenna, D-Crystal City.
Francis said it’s difficult to track how many traffic accidents are caused by texting because accident reports usually don’t include that information. Instead, he said, officers can broadly indicate whether they found evidence of inattention, which includes — but is not limited to — texting and other cell phone usage.
The issue comes before the City Council at its next meeting, which is set for Oct. 26.
Inattention
A report from the Missouri State Highway Patrol listed inattention as the cause of more than 43,000 accidents across the state in 2008.
