It seems the Texas public has a different opinion about distracted driving than do the current Republican governor and the Republican candidate for governor.
A poll taken by Texas A&M was written up recently in the Dallas Morning News. Here are the opening paragraphs of the article:
Texas remains one of a handful of states that do not outlaw texting while driving, but new polling shows drivers are warming up to the idea.
Six out of 10 drivers surveyed by the Texas A&M Transportation Institute favored a texting ban. And a slight majority supported prohibiting phone calls without a hands-free device, according to the poll released last week.
It’s the latest look at the public’s view on using phones behind the wheel, a contentious issue that has divided the candidates for governor.
Republican Greg Abbott, the attorney general, opposes a statewide ban. His Democratic rival, Fort Worth state Sen. Wendy Davis, was the co-author of an anti-texting and driving bill that faltered in the Legislature last year.
In the poll, an overwhelming majority of Texans say distracted driving is a serious problem that needs more attention, but nearly half believe that laws against it are too difficult to enforce.
