Upstate Lawmaker Again Pushes For Statewide Texting While Driving Ban

State Representative Don Bowen is again pushing for a statewide texting while driving ban in South Carolina, after several versions of a texting ban bill have failed over the past two years.

Bowen thinks support for a texting while driving ban is gaining steam because of recent car crashes and a recommendation by the head of the National Transportation Safety Board to ban all electronic devices while driving.

Under Bowen's bill, drivers caught texting and driving face a fine of up to $100 and two points on their driving record. If there is a fatality involved, drivers face up to 10 years in prison and a $10,000 fine, under the bill.

The cities of Clemson, West Union, Columbia, Camden, and Sumter have bans against texting and driving.

An SUV upside down and crashed into a building is the image Dale Dennard has of the wreck that ended his son's life in Anderson County on Highway 29 North in February 2010. Dennard says, “He (his son) was going to a friend's apartment and lost his way. He had been texting them back and forth to get directions, and I guess that's when the accident happened.” 

The Anderson County Coroner's office says Dale Dennard’s son, 22 year old Charles Aaron Dennard, had a blood alcohol level three times the legal limit and he was texting just before the crash. Dennard describes how it felt when he found out about his son’s death, “Devastating, something that's really hard to explain unless you've experienced it.” 

Dale Dennard wants lawmakers to ban texting and driving across South Carolina. 

Anderson Representative Don Bowen says, “We need to have a strong law that pertains to texting, especially when somebody's killed or dismembered in an accident that's caused by texting.” 

Bowen tried to get a texting ban through last year. But he says lawmakers wanted to reduce the fine. This year Bowen is proposing violators face a fine of up to 125 dollars and two points on their license. Under Bowen's bill, if someone is killed in a texting and driving crash, violators could face up to ten years in prison and a $10,000 fine. The proposal also gives aw enforcement the means to subpeona your phone records, if you're involved in an accident, and they suspect there was texting and driving. 

Bowen says, “You wouldn't be texting if you thought you could cause a serious accident and really be held accountable for it.” 

“7 On Your Side” dug deeper Into cell phone laws in the U.S. and found 35 states ban text messaging for all drivers, including North Carolina and Georgia. Also, the Georgia Department of Driver Services says since that state’s ban on texting and driving went into place in July 2010, 23 teens and 557 adults have been convicted of violating the ban. In Georgia, drivers 18 and under are also banned from using a hand-held or hands-free phone while driving.