By Marshall Griffin, KWMU
Jefferson City, MO – The Missouri Senate has endorsed legislation that would make it illegal to send text messages while driving.
The measure was in the form of an amendment added onto a larger transportation bill.
State Senator Jeff Smith (D, St. Louis) voted for the amendment.
"You see other people on the road who are texting who seem inattentive to the road, and frankly I've been guilty of it myself, and I know that I'm not as attentive to the road as I should be when I'm texting," Smith said.
The sponsor of the larger bill, Senator Bill Stouffer (R, Napton), did not support the texting-while-driving amendment. He says it's redundant.
"We have a law against inattention...texting's bad, I don't argue that at all, but so is talking to somebody in the car and not paying attention, so is talking on the telephone, and reaching into the back seat and grabbing a file," Stouffer said.
The amendment was sponsored by State Senator Ryan McKenna (R, Crystal City).
If it passes, anyone ticketed for texting while driving would face a fine of up to $200, and the infraction would go on the offender's driving record.