Floridians may soon be fined for texting while driving.
SB 416, also known as the Florida Ban on Texting While Driving Law, passed its final committee review on Tuesday. It will now go to the Florida Senate calendar for a second reading and a possible vote.
If passed, the bill would go into effect Oct. 1.
"There has always been support for this bill in the Senate," said GeeDee Kerr, a legislative assistant to bill sponsor Sen. Nancy Detert (R-Venice).
Kerr said Detert's office is optimistic that this version of the bill will eventually get signed into law to begin protecting Florida's citizens.
Detert introduced the bill in January, but this is the third time a bill proposing to ban texting while driving has been introduced to the Senate.
This version would make the violation a secondary offense, meaning a law enforcement officer can only fine a driver if he or she has already been pulled over for another offense, according to the bill's text.
The first offense results in a $30 fine and increases in value with subsequent violations, including points being added to the offender's license. Emergency response workers are exempt from this bill while on the job, so the bill will not interfere with the technology used when responding to calls.
In a Thursday report by the Governors Highway Safety Association, Florida had a 6 percent increase in teen deaths due to distracted driving over a six-month test period in 2011.
University Police spokesman Maj. Brad Barber said he's not aware of any recent texting-related accidents on campus involving students.
Barber said this bill is a step in the right direction of recognizing that distracted driving is bad.
"Anything that can assist in the focus of drivers is something I would support."
Currently, 35 states have passed texting-while-driving bans, according to the association.
"I see this as a government intrusion to privacy," said public relations junior Bill Allingham. "I don't think it will stop the behavior. But I can always tell when someone is texting while driving because they will swerve and drive slower."
